fill the sky
by faithsette
Summary: 'The woman is staring at them, frozen for a second, and while he briefly registers how stunning she is, it's the two men standing behind her with guns in their hands that really catch his attention. He suddenly wishes he had asked Eli what his mother does for a living.' AU. Entry for Castle Ficathon 2017.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : Hi guys! Someone told me a while back that I should shift from my comfort zone and try writing Beckett with a son, and I had a lot of fun writing this one. It's 11 chapters + an epilogue, to be posted regularly. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

By the third hour, he'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't relieved to see the line in front of him dwindling. He enjoys book signings, loves interacting with his fans and getting genuine feedback, but sometimes the continuous need for high energy and smiles takes a toll on him. Somewhere along the line, even signing chests has gotten old. He may be Richard Castle but he's still human—he _does_ get tired.

"Thank you for buying the book," he says to the woman in front of him. She told him to make it out to Violet and somehow he doesn't think that's her real name.

A woman in her thirties steps up next, and he can see a young boy standing behind her. He smiles to himself; the mother must've dragged her son with her. Seems like a trooper, though.

He tries to make eye contact with the boy as he talks to his mother, to engage him, but he doesn't even seem to register the attention. Instead, he stares into the aisles off to the side as he waits. And when the woman leaves, the boy remains.

"Hey, buddy," he says, finally catching his attention. "You might want to go catch up with your mom."

The boy looks at him, brows scrunched as he gazes to the woman now walking out of the bookstore. "That's not my mom."

Okay. Well, he _did_ find it a bit odd that the woman just left and made no efforts to even acknowledge the kid.

It's then Rick notices the boy has a book in his hands. He thought he was tagging along with his mother to the book signing, but assuming the young blonde standing behind him who looks to be about 20 years old isn't his mother either, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"Are you by yourself?" he asks as the book is placed onto the table.

The boy bristles a little, straightens up with a look of confidence, and ah, yeah, he remembers those days. Independence.

"Yeah," he's told, the answer coming easily.

"Okay," Rick says, slowly taking the book and opening it to the front page. "What's your name?"

As he waits for an answer, he takes in the boy. He's young, probably ten at most if he had to guess. His brown hair is shaggy enough to brush against his forehead but short enough so as not to fall into his eyes, which are a bright hazel.

"Eli." Just as he's about to sign the front page, a small hand presses against the book, stopping him. "But it's not for me. It's for my mom."

Ah. Though he does want to reach a younger audience, he's kind of glad this kid isn't the fan. Maybe he doesn't want _that_ young of an audience, not with some of the things he writes in these books.

"That's sweet of you, Eli," Rick says, and that gets a bashful smile out of him. "And what's your mom's name?"

"Kate."

He purposely takes his time signing. "Where's your mom right now?"

"At home," Eli says, watching Rick intently as he writes her name. "She's asleep."

That's... odd, he thinks, considering it's just shy of 5:00 in the evening. But Eli doesn't elaborate, doesn't even seem fazed; this leads him to believe his mother sleeping in the middle of the day isn't an out of the ordinary occurrence.

He shouldn't make assumptions, he really shouldn't—he knows it's an occupational hazard, making up stories for people he doesn't even know, but he can't seem to help himself. What would have this woman asleep in the middle of the day, allowing her son to wander the streets alone at his age? New York City isn't exactly the safest place for kids to be left by themselves.

Stay at home mom? If so, he'd expect her to be, well, awake and with her son. His mystery brain immediately goes to possible alcoholic or drug addict, passed out in broad daylight after getting her fix. But Eli looks perfectly fine—clean, in good spirits, dressed nicely. And so he scraps that thought as quickly as it comes.

Maybe a job that requires she work at night and sleep during the day?

"Are you gonna sign that?" Eli's voice breaks him from his wandering thoughts, and he looks down to find all he's written so far is _Kate_. The boy's question is innocent, but Rick can see the rest of the queue getting agitated by how long he's taking with him.

He doesn't want someone snapping at Eli because of it, and so he flashes a dazzling smile to the line of women waiting.

He chuckles. "Yeah, I am." Finishing the signature, he closes the book and places his hand on top of it. Before sliding it over, he takes a breath. "Does your mom know you're here?"

She's asleep, he's been told, but it's entirely possible the boy woke her up to tell her he's leaving.

But the averted eye contact and lips pressed into a thin line tell him otherwise. "No," the boy says with a shake of his head, eyes on him. "It's a surprise. For her birthday."

There's something settling in his stomach, something that's telling him to keep the boy here. The city really is dangerous for a young kid on their own, especially at this time. Winter has come and with it brought early sunsets, leaving the city basked in darkness well before 5:30.

"I'm sure she'll love it," he says, trying to think of a way to get him to stay without outright telling him it's for safety reasons. He was a young boy once, and if someone had told him it was dangerous when he was trying to assert his independence and prove he's a big kid, he'd have done exactly what they said not to. "Hey, Eli. It won't take me too much longer to sign the rest of these books; why don't you hang around?"

One brow raises, skeptical, and _oof_ he wants to know where the kid learned that look. "How come?"

Yeah, Rick, how come?

"You said it's your mom's birthday, right?" The boy nods. "Well, I didn't know that when I signed it, but if you wait until I'm done here I can write something extra special in her book for her."

Eli's eyes lights up, a wide smile stretched across his face. If there's one thing Rick can tell, regardless of the reason she's asleep in the middle of the day, this kid really loves his mother.

"Really?"

Rick nods. "Absolutely," he says, handing him the book. "There are beanbags by the kid's section. I can meet you over there when I'm done."

"Awesome! Thanks!"

Eli beams as he practically sprints out of his eyesight and towards the aisles leading to the children's section. With a deep breath, Rick suppresses the smile as he turns back to the line and greets the woman next in line.

Taking the book from her, he turns on his usual charm. "Thanks so much for waiting."

* * *

It's only about another twenty minutes by the time he closes the last book and watches as his fans make their way from the bookstore. Once everyone's been attended to, he thanks the staff as they begin to take down his signs and then makes his way through the aisles.

He finds Eli lounging in one of the beanbags, a picture books in his hands.

"Good read?" he asks, watching as the boy looks up from the pages and sits up a little straighter.

"There are no words," he says, turning the book in his direction. "I was comfortable and didn't want to go find a real book."

Rick laughs. "Understandable." Moving closer, he takes a seat in one of the chairs near the cluster of beanbags. If he sits in one of those, he's not entirely sure he'll get back up. "Say, Eli, how old are you?"

"Eight," he's told, and Rick nods. He's younger than he originally thought. "Nine soon!"

"Well, happy early birthday! And speaking of birthdays... may I?" He gestures to the book.

Eli nods and hands it over. "She'll love it. Maybe it'll... make me in less trouble."

He raises a brow as he writes. "Trouble?"

"Yeah." Eli sighs. "I'm not supposed to leave without telling her. She's strict about that."

Ah, makes sense. He's beginning to lean towards Eli's mother having a job that somehow dictates her sleeping schedule—a nurse, working long night shifts, maybe?—as opposed to something more sinister. She clearly cares about her son and his well-being, and he adores her.

"I'm sure she just wants to make sure you're safe," Rick supplies, keeping his voice light. He doesn't want to make it sound like he's reprimanding him. "Tell you a secret?" Eli leans in. "My mom wasn't very strict at all while I was growing up, and I got into some serious trouble as a kid. I bet your mom is just trying to avoid that sort of thing happening to you."

Eli nods. "I know. But if I asked her to come she wouldn't let me go by myself, and I'd have to tell her why, and then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

Rick can't help but smile at the conflict clear on the boy's face. He's a sweet kid.

Closing the book he's just amended for this woman Kate, he rests his elbows on the front cover as it balances on his knees. He could call a cab for the boy, but for some reason he doesn't want to. He feels oddly protective, which is ridiculous, but he's so young.

"Here you go, all done," he says, handing the book back. "Are you going home now?"

"Uh huh." Eli smiles at him as he stands. "Thank you!"

Just as he's turning away, Rick calls him back. "I'm leaving now too. Why don't I give you a ride?"

"I'm not supposed to get into cars with strangers," Eli says matter-of-factly, and Rick lets out a chuckle. Smart, too. "It's not far anyway."

"That's good—your mom's taught you well," he praises. "Would it be okay if I walked you back, then? No cars involved, you know my name, and I could use the fresh air." The boy chews on his bottom lip, clearly contemplating. He's not trying to intrude, or overstep, but he doesn't want to let him walk back home alone in the dark. "I could come say hi to your mom and wish her a happy birthday in person?"

"Seriously?" is his immediate response, and Rick laughs. His mother must be some fan.

Rick nods. "Of course."

"Okay. I think she would like that, so I guess it's okay," the boy decides.

He stands along with him, resting his palm on Eli's shoulder as he leads him out of the bookstore.

"Let's get going then, Eli. We have a mom to surprise."

* * *

Eli's right when he says it's not too far; a few blocks, really, but it's still quite the walk for a lone kid to make. The trip ends at an apartment building, and Eli leads him through the entrance and into the elevator.

"I hope she's still asleep," the boy says. "Then she won't know I left."

Rick doesn't mention how she'd know anyway, because of the signed book and his presence alone, and instead just offers a small smile as they step off the elevator onto the sixth floor. Following Eli's lead, he trails behind as they make their way towards the second to last door on the right.

"Do you have a key?" he asks, getting a nod in return.

"Yup."

Once he's fished it from his pocket, he raises it, but just as he's sticking it in the keyhole the door swings open. Rick jolts a little in surprise, but he looks down to find Eli standing completely still with an innocent smile on his face.

The woman is staring at them, frozen for a second, and while he briefly registers how stunning she is, it's the two men standing behind her with guns in their hands that really catch his attention. His heart crashes against his ribs for escape, nerves seeping into his system.

He suddenly wishes he had asked Eli what his mother does for a living.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in a few days, she feels somewhat refreshed. This past case has really taken a toll on her, both physically and emotionally, and it's left her more exhausted than usual.

She'd woken up early to Eli lying beside her in her bed, pressed up against the headboard with one of his books in hand. As soon as he had realized she was awake, he put it down and beamed over at her, leaning to give her a hug and yell "happy birthday!" loudly into her ear.

He'd been adamant he help with breakfast, because it's her birthday and "I would have done it myself but I'm not allowed to use the stove," and she'd laughed. Ruffling his hair, she'd pressed a kiss to his head as she handed him the necessary ingredients to make pancakes. All of the stove work was hers to finish, but she let him pour the batter in the pan and grab fruit from the fridge.

Around 2:30 she'd begun to lose steam, the lack of sleep coming back to haunt her.

"You're tired," Eli had said, merely an observation.

She'd squeezed his shoulder with a small chuckle. "I am, bud. But it's okay. You know why?" He'd shaken his head. "Because I'm spending my birthday with you," she'd told him, tapping his nose with her forefinger.

"You should take a nap. We can pause your birthday and have fun when you aren't tired!"

Her sweet boy. Normally, she wouldn't—she doesn't like leaving him unattended—but he'd insisted he would be okay for a few hours ("I'll play with my games, Mom," he'd said easily) while she caught up on some sleep.

Waking up now, she stretches out, pointing her toes into the mattress. It's just after 4:30, and those two hours seem to have done something, at least, and with any luck she'll be able to sleep well tonight too.

She swings her legs from the bed and pads her way into the hallway.

"Eli," she calls as she makes her way through the living room. "What do you want for dinner?"

There's silence and she thinks nothing of it, figuring since he's not in the living room that he's hiding out in his room. She makes a cup of coffee to rid herself of the last remnants of sleep and carries it with her to go greet her son.

"The nap worked wonders, kid," she says as she pushes open his door with a smile. "Now come help me choose a nice birthday meal for—" The smile drops from her face, replaced by furrowed brows when the room appears to be empty. "Eli?"

After checking his room, closet included (she once found him curled into his clothes basket at 5 years old, and though he's taller now, sometimes he'll still hide there), she makes quick work of checking the rest of the apartment. The bathroom, her bedroom, the kitchen, everywhere in the living room she can think of.

"Eli!" she yells, panic curling itself around her ribs. She places her coffee onto the counter, saving herself from the inevitable clean up when it falls from her shaky hands and shatters against the hardwood. "E, this isn't funny."

But there's still no response and the fear begins to take hold. She does her best to push it back and take a deep breath; think about the situation just like a case, she tells herself.

Nothing's out of place. There's been no upheaval of her apartment, save for the usual mess an eight year old boy leaves in his wake. The front door is still closed, no sign of anyone breaking in or tampering with the lock in any way.

Eli knows better than to just _leave_ , but the alternative is far too dreadful to even think about.

Hands unsteady at best, she grabs her cell phone and calls the boys. They're not off duty today—she wouldn't be, either, but they had finally convinced her to take some of her built up vacation time, what with her birthday and the upcoming holidays. Realistically, she knows they're likely in the middle of a case, but she's just barely keeping it together.

"Espo," she exhales as soon as he answers.

"Beckett, shouldn't you be engaging in birthday activities with our favorite mini—"

"Eli's gone."

There's a brief pause. "What?" She hears him call Ryan over and the immediate muffled sounds of shuffling. She assumes they're both leaning into the receiver. "What do you mean he's _gone?_ "

"I don't—Javi, he's not here," she manages. "I took a nap and woke up and he's nowhere. I checked the whole apartment."

"Are there signs—"

She cuts Ryan off. "Of a break-in? No," she breathes, running a hand through her hair. "Nothing's out of place. He knows better than to leave this apartment on his own, or without telling me, but—"

"But that's the best case scenario," Espo finishes for her. "I know. Listen, we'll be right over."

"No, guys, you're mid-case, I just..."

She's not really sure _what_ she thought they'd be able to do, especially since it looks like Eli left on his own. But because of their job, _her_ job, she's made some enemies and this could quite possibly be one of her worst nightmares.

"Beckett, we're coming," Ryan says firmly. "Eli's more important. Captain will understand."

After relenting, she thanks them again. She waits in the living room once they hang up, each nerve ending a live wire beneath her skin.

* * *

"Is there anywhere he would've gone?" Esposito asks, and she merely shrugs. "A park? A game shop? A friend's?"

"I don't think so. I mean, he loves the park as much as the next kid, but he wouldn't just _go._ "

Ryan steps up. "We can call some of his friends?"

Beckett nods, pacing into the kitchen to find her phone once more. She has a handful of numbers in her contacts for some of the other parents, from parent-teacher nights and other various school events, but there are only a select few of their kids Eli regularly hangs out with or even talks about.

"There are only a couple I can think of, but I don't know if he even knows where they live."

Even still, with her two friends beside her, she calls.

"Hi, Mrs. Thomas," she greets, wishing so badly to bypass the pleasantries. "It's nice to hear from you too. Listen, Eli's not there is he? No? Okay, no, that's okay, thank you."

Hanging up, she tries again. Each phone call goes about the same—her son is at none of their houses, and she pointedly ignores the questions about whether there's something wrong, the hidden judgement in their tones as it becomes clear she's not entirely sure where her child is.

"I'll go look around," Ryan says, grabbing his jacket. "Maybe he's at one of the shops or bodegas on the street. He likes that hot dog cart a little ways down, right?"

Nodding, she bites at the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay. "Yeah, yeah he loves that one."

"Go," Espo says, giving a curt nod to his partner. "I'll stay here."

Once Ryan's gone, she slumps against the kitchen counter, burying her head in her hands.

Deep breaths, Kate.

"He's fine. He's a little boy. Little boys do stupid stuff like this," he says, and she turns to look at him. "I should know—I was one. And trust me, if leaving the apartment without your knowledge is the worst thing Eli does, you're doing one hell of a job."

Beckett huffs. "Yeah, one hell of a job _losing_ my kid."

"Hey, stop. You didn't lose him. And you didn't do anything; this is in no way your fault."

She shakes her head. "I shouldn't have taken a nap, I should've just pushed through it and waited until he was asleep."

"He's eight, Beckett. You're allowed to leave him to his own devices while you take a nap. You've done it before, right?" A small nod. "And he's never done this?" She shakes her head. "See? This isn't a repeat offense. A nap is not the cause of this."

While she knows he's right, that Eli doesn't ever do things like this, she can't help but think about how it wouldn't have happened at all had she just stayed awake.

If anything happens to that boy, she'll never forgive herself.

* * *

It's around 5:30 when Ryan returns from his search, which unfortunately brings about nothing of substance. Eli wasn't in any of the stores, and the vendor of the hot dog cart he loves said he hasn't seen him today.

They wait around in her apartment for another 20 minutes, trying to decide what the next best thing is to do, and Beckett nearly loses her mind with each passing second.

At the 25 minute mark, just as she's about to call and report her son missing, she hears a jingle of metal insert itself into the keyhole. Her pulse quickens and she makes a beeline for the entryway, leaving Ryan and Esposito just behind her, hands on their weapons should this be anyone but Eli. Beckett pulls the door open without a second thought, and her heart slowly dislodges itself from her throat, some of the heightened anxiety flowing from her body.

For a few seconds she remains frozen, unable to do anything but stare, wide-eyed at the sight in front of her.

Standing in the doorway, next to her son and looking painfully unsure of himself (and a little frightened?) is Richard Castle.

* * *

 **A/N** : I'm overwhelmed by the response to the first chapter— _thank you_.


	3. Chapter 3

Her inability to move lasts only seconds before she bends down, immediately pulling her son into her chest.

"Eli James," she reprimands even as her fingers grip into the fabric of his shirt. Pulling back slightly, hands still braced on his shoulders, she looks at him. "Where were you? What were you _thinking?_ "

Eli has the grace to look a little embarrassed. "I went to his book signing," he says, gesturing vaguely to his right, and she blinks. He—what? She looks from her son to the author still standing completely still in her doorway. "Rick walked me home."

At her surprised expression, the man finally makes some kind of movement. "When I realized he was there alone, I didn't want to have him walk back by himself."

She'll get to that in a minute. First...

"You—a book signing? Why?" She pauses, standing. "Let's go inside first. Come on."

Eli bypasses his mother then, going inside to greet the boys. Esposito pats him on the back and Ryan squeezes his shoulder, both of them mentioning how glad they are to see him.

"You had us all worried there, kid," Ryan says. "Especially your mom."

She only hears part of their conversation as she turns her attention back to Richard Castle. He's still standing there, though he does seem to have re-positioned himself a few inches to the left.

"Please, come in," she says after a minute. She needs to deal with her son first, but she does want to thank the man (she's pointedly ignoring how he's also her favorite author) who walked her son home. "Uh, I'm Kate."

"I know," he tells her, and her brow quirks but she remains silent. She'll ask questions later. "Rick Castle."

With a small nod in acknowledgement, she lets him move around her as she closes the door behind them. She gestures to the kitchen and tells him to sit at one of the chairs, that she'll be over in a minute, and he simply waves her off.

"Eli, come here," she says, calling her son into the living room. When he's standing in front of her, she runs her hands along his shoulders, his face, taking him in to make sure nothing's out of place.

"I'm okay, Mom."

She pulls him in for another hug, a few rogue tears finally making their way down her cheeks. "And I'm so thankful for that. But you _know_ you're not supposed to leave this apartment by yourself without telling me first."

"I know," he nods, and oh, that face. It's so hard to stay mad at, but she's still so on edge. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. I thought you would still be napping."

"That doesn't make it okay, E. That actually makes it worse."

Eli sighs. "I know."

"Now that we know you know, care to tell me _why_ you left? And how you ended up at one of Richard Castle's book signings?"

The boy's face brightens just a little. "I saw it on TV that he was going to be at that bookstore we go to sometimes. It's not far."

Taking a breath, she lets her eyes fall closed for a second. She knows the bookstore he's talking about, and while it's not that far when they walk together, for him to go by himself is farther than she'd ever let him go. Eyes open again, she gives an encouraging nod for him to continue.

"You love his books, Mom. I wanted to get you a signed one for your birthday. A surprise."

It's then she realizes he's holding a book in his hands. He holds it out for her, a smile on his face, and she can't help but match it. She leans in and presses a kiss to his forehead, hands brushing the hair away from his face.

"Oh, baby," she says, pulling the book to her chest and settling back on her haunches. "Thank you. It was very sweet of you to think of me, but please promise me next time you won't go off like that again." Looking over his shoulder, she gestures loosely to her partners. "If you want something to be a surprise, you can always ask Uncle Kevin or Javi to take you, okay? It'll still be a surprise but I'll know where you are and you won't be alone."

"I'm almost nine!"

"I know. And you're very smart, E. But you're still too young to walk around this city by yourself. It's not safe," she says, steeling her features. Independence is not a foreign concept to her—she was a nightmare for her parents as a teenager, and even younger, because she wanted to assert her independence too. So she gets it. But her parents didn't let her run around on her own, because it _is_ too dangerous, and she's not going to let Eli. "I see too many horrific things every single day. I see kids your age hurt and kidnapped and _worse_ , and I refuse to let anything like that happen to you. Do you understand?"

Eli nods on a sigh. "I understand. I'll ask someone next time." He wraps his arms around his mother's neck once more. "I love you, Mom. Happy birthday."

She holds him against her with a hand cradling the back of his head, eyes slipping shut for a moment. "I love you too. So much." Pulling back, she lets out a deep breath. "I was in your room earlier and it's a mess—why don't you go put your things away and we'll decide what to do about dinner in a little bit."

She'll figure out what to do with him, too. Doing the wrong thing with good intentions is still the wrong thing, and he has to know he can't do this again. There's going to be some kind of punishment, but she can't even begin to think about it right now, not with three other people in the apartment and her nerves still all over the place.

Cleaning his disaster of a room is a start, though.

"Okay."

With her son sliding through the hallway in his socks, she stands, tilts her head back and exhales slowly through her nose. She's never been more terrified than she was today, and now her primary feeling is one of relief. Her body's heightened energy is coming down, heartbeat slowing to its normal pace.

Walking up to the boys, she shoots them a small smile. "Thank you guys for coming," she says, tugging each of them into a grateful hug. "I—I would've gone insane otherwise."

"Would've?" Esposito teases, and she smacks his arm. "We get it, Beckett. Wouldn't be anywhere else."

"Yeah, we're always here for our favorite mini-Beckett," Ryan agrees on a nod. "And you, boss."

She's not entirely sure where she'd be without the group of colleagues and friends she has surrounding her, but she's forever grateful. Thanking them again, she sees them to the door and promises their next round is on her. With them gone, she shuts the door once more and turns to the final remaining occupant of her kitchen.

Richard Castle.

"Hi, sorry," she says, making her way around the counter. "I didn't even—would you like some coffee?"

"Don't worry about it, you had your hands full," he says easily. "Only if you're making some for yourself."

"I am. I need it. And it's the least I can do for you walking him back." Sighing, she leans against the counter while the coffee brews. "Really, thank you. You didn't have to do that, but... thanks."

He shakes his head. "It wasn't a problem. When I realized he was there alone I managed to get him to stay until the end of my signing so he wouldn't walk back alone," he tells her, and _oh_. That's not exactly the sort of behavior that adds up with what she's read about him. "I didn't mean to overstep, I just know if that was my kid I wouldn't want them walking around New York by themselves, especially in the dark."

"You have children?"

"Oh, no," he says, shaking his head. "Not yet."

Nodding, she stores that information away. There's never been anything about kids in anything she's read, but it's not impossible for that information to be kept secret.

"Good instincts, though. I really appreciate it."

"He's sweet," Rick says, and she can't help the upturn of her lips. She's beautiful when she smiles, he notices. "Said it was a surprise for your birthday. Which, by the way, _happy birthday_."

Sliding his coffee across the counter, she nods. "Thank you."

"This probably isn't how you imagined spending it."

Huffing, she pulls one lip between her teeth. "Uh, no," she laughs. "Definitely not how I envisioned this day going at all."

A silence settles over the room, not comfortable but not outright uncomfortable either. She's—there's still so much running through her mind, and her fingers tug through her knotted hair.

"Do you know how terrifying it is to wake up and have your kid gone?" She breathes it quietly into the air between them, but they both know it's a rhetorical question. Her head falls into her hands, hot air blowing onto her palms.

She doesn't expect an answer, or a response at all, really, but he surprises her. "No, I don't," he says, and she lifts her head briefly to offer a tight smile. "I have no idea how that feels, but I can only imagine it's—well, horrifying."

"You'd be correct. Worst hour and a half of my life," she murmurs, twisting her mouth to the side. "And that's saying a lot, all things considered."

When she meets his gaze once more, she can see the wheels turning, the questions in his eyes. She supposes she can't be surprised, not with the little tidbit she's just shared.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What is it exactly that you do for a living?"

That actually gets a laugh out of her, which seems to catch him off guard.

"I just... wasn't expecting that to be the question."

Rick hums. "Well, the two guys with guns that greeted me at your doorway were _kind_ of intimidating. Now I'm all for adventure, but it'd be nice to know if it's the... legal kind, or like, the mob or something. You know, do I have to watch my back now?"

"Please, you returned my kid to me. If anything, _they'll_ be watching your back."

He splutters a bit, eyes wide. "They—"

"Relax," Kate chuckles. She pauses. "So, what you're _really_ asking is... what, if I'm part of the mob or if I'm cop?" He gives a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. "That's a pretty wide range of options there, you know."

"Is it—is your occupation somewhere in between?"

He sounds so excited about the possibility, his face brightening, she almost feels bad about crushing that illusion. Almost.

"As exciting as it would be to tell you I'm a mob boss and those two guys were my minions, I have to dash that hope," she says, and he exhales on a light chuckle. "I'm a detective. Those are my partners. Hence, the guns."

Rick nods meaningfully. "Ah, that makes a lot more sense. A tad disappointing, I must say, but fitting."

"Sorry to disappoint. But I did mean what I said—Eli's their honorary nephew; you made sure he got back here safely, so they're already on your side."

They spend the next half hour sipping at their coffees and making small talk. She tells him a little about Eli, and she finds out that her son has told him some of those things already, on their walk back here—his love for history and science, sports (though he doesn't actively play any right now), and reading. He tells her about how a book signing goes, the logistics of it, and how they generally tire him out after a while.

It's something she hadn't expected, but then again, he's surprised her a few times today. Page Six Richard Castle is nothing at all like the Richard Castle sitting across from her at her kitchen counter right now.

Eli comes back out after a while to get something to drink, and he hesitates for a few moments before deciding to slide onto a stool and sit with them.

"I should probably get going," Rick says just before the clock reaches 7:00. "Thanks for the coffee, it was great."

"Of course," she assures him. "Thank you, again, for bringing him back."

"Bye, Rick!" Eli calls from the living room. He waves from the couch.

Rick smiles, returning the wave. "Bye, Eli." Turning back to Kate, he says nothing for a few seconds. "It was really nice talking to you. Maybe we could... get together for some coffee sometime?"

Oh.

Her emotions are all over the place from the events of today, but for some reason she finds herself wanting to say yes. He seems to be a pretty nice guy, and if she's being honest she enjoyed talking to him too.

What's that they say about not judging a book by its cover? This seems pretty indicative of that.

"Uh, sure," she decides with a small nod. "That'd be nice. My work hours are kind of crazy, but I could call you?"

Rick grins. "Yeah, of course." He writes his number down on a piece of paper she hands him and places it on the counter. "Just call whenever you can. It was nice meeting you, Kate. Enjoy the rest of your birthday."

"You too, and thank you."

With a smile on her face she wanders back into the living room, determined to get a meal selection out of her child.

* * *

Once Eli's asleep and she can finally crawl into her bed, she reaches for the nightstand. The book he'd snuck out to get sits on the edge, and she drags it onto her lap.

Opening to the front page, she expects to find her name and his signature—the usual autograph that one walks away with. But when she reads it, she's... surprised. Her hand lifts to her face, fingertips brushing against her lips.

 _Kate -_

 _You've raised a very sweet son, you must be proud._

 _Thrilled to hear you're a fan—I hope you enjoy the book._

 _Richard Castle_

 _P.s. Happy birthday! May your day be filled with love._

* * *

 **A/N** : You're all incredible, thank you.

I haven't been great at replying to each of you individually, and for that I apologize, but please know I read and appreciate every single review. And please, if anyone has a comment/question/concern you'd like a reply to (or you just want to say hi!), feel free to reach out on Twitter (faithsette) as I find that to be a much easier platform to respond on. Thank you all so much.


	4. Chapter 4

"Eli," Kate calls from the kitchen, second cup of coffee in her hand. "Come on, kid. Time for school!"

This is easily her least favorite part of the day, though one she's become accustomed to. Her son is not a morning person—she knows she has only herself to blame for that—and getting him up each day for school ranges anywhere from a gentle nudge to pulling him from the bed by his legs.

He's free from his punishment today, a week of no games or outside activities with friends, and she wonders if that'll make it any easier to wake him up. He's handled it... not _great_ , but as well as she assumes any eight year old deals with prolonged punishment.

Telling him he couldn't go to the park with a group of his friends proved to be the worst of it, and he'd sulked in his bedroom for an hour before he returned to the living room, slumped himself onto the couch and stared at the stack of video games he also couldn't play.

At least she feels confident he won't do this again.

Placing her coffee on the counter, she makes her way down the hall to his bedroom. She pushes the door open and finds Eli still in bed, as she expected, blankets pulled up to his chin. A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she bends down, kneeling beside him.

So peaceful, that face. Brushing the hair away from his forehead, she runs her fingers through the strands.

"E," she says, shaking gently at his shoulders. There's a small grumble and she laughs. "Eli, let's go."

"No thank you," he mumbles, squeezing his eyes tighter.

She can't help but chuckle. "As polite as that is, it wasn't a question."

Standing, she looks down at her son before grabbing at the blankets, yanking them from his body.

"Mom! Cold!"

"Won't be cold once you get up and get dressed," she reasons, patting his pajama covered knee. "Brush your teeth, put on clothes, then come eat breakfast, okay?"

There's no intelligible answer but she does get a groggy nod. At least he's sitting up now, rubbing at his tired eyes as he stifles a yawn. You'd think the kid never slept with how much of a battle it is to drag him out each morning.

She tosses the clothes she'd laid out earlier onto his bed. He tells her he can choose his own outfits, and while she doesn't doubt that he's old enough to, the last time he got ready without her help he almost walked out of the house in a shirt that was inside out and jeans with old paint stains on them.

She's all for individualism, but she draws the line at sending her kid to school in dirty or incorrectly worn clothes. So, for the time being, it's a compromise. She'll lay out a handful of different shirts and pants, and he'll pick what he wants to wear.

She's sitting at the counter, two boxes of cereal out on the counter for Eli to choose from, when he finally emerges from the hallway. He seems considerably more awake now, has some energy and even a smile for her, and that's the boy she knows.

As awful as it is getting him up, it's the same every day: as soon as he's awake and dressed, he bounces right back.

"Milk please?" he asks as he sits down, choosing Fruit Loops to put into the bowl she'd set out. She lets him pour the milk and waits for him to hand it back, then spins to return it to the fridge. "Thanks. Hey, Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"It's been a week," he announces around a spoonful of cereal.

She nods. "It has." He looks up at her with the most innocent face he can muster this early. " _Yes_ , E, your punishment is over."

Eli's face breaks into a smile. "So I can go to Travis's birthday party tomorrow?"

"You can," she confirms, pressing a kiss to his temple. Truthfully, she wouldn't have kept him from going either way. She wants to make sure he knows his actions were wrong, but considering the circumstances she knows it wasn't done as an act of rebellion—she would have still let him go to his friends birthday, even if it had fallen during his week of punishment.

"Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome, baby."

Kate goes into the living room while he finishes his breakfast to grab his backpack from the coffee table. "Do you have everything you need in here?" she asks, waiting for him to look up from his cereal and turn towards her.

"Uh huh."

She zips it then, walking back over to place it on the stool beside him. "Okay. I'll put your bowl in the sink, go get your shoes on."

Now it's time to make sure _she_ has everything. It's been years, but sometimes she feels like she's still getting used to having "normal" hours. Starting at 8am instead of 4, coming in when Ryan and Espo are either finishing up paperwork already or getting calls about a fresh body. She wouldn't change it, of course, being able to drop Eli off at school in the mornings.

Luckily, the mother of one of Eli's friends has offered to take him after school until she's off from work some days. On the other days, it's her father. She wishes she could be there when he gets out, too, but with his school ending at 3:00 it's rarely a possibility.

"Ready?" she asks when he sidles up beside her, bag thrown over his shoulder. He nods, and she ruffles his hair as he tries to duck beneath her arms. "Let's go, kid."

* * *

The day goes as smoothly as one can in homicide. Their case is fairly open and shut, thanks largely in part to the murderer who was so drunk he passed out mere feet from his victim after killing him. It doesn't take long to match the shattered butt of the beer bottle he was holding to the murder weapon.

A part of her wishes each case was this simple, but she supposes that'd make life pretty boring.

No more boring than paperwork, of course, which is what she spends the majority of her shift doing after they clear their case. There's a bit more than usual because she let herself get behind during the last case, too wrapped up in actual details of it to focus on the paperwork side of things.

With it pushing 6:30 and the pile just reaching its end, she's paying for that oversight now.

She tries not to stay past her shift normally, but she wants to start fresh tomorrow with no backed up paperwork, and she knows Eli is with her father. It shouldn't be much longer, though; she'll be finished within the next fifteen minutes or so and then she's free to head over and pick him up.

* * *

She gets to her father's around 7:15, the traffic making her journey take longer than it normally would.

The sounds of boyish laughter greet her from behind the door, and she takes an experimental twist of the knob to find it already open.

"I hope you don't always keep this unlocked, Dad," she says by way of greeting, smiling as her son grins at her from the kitchen.

"Hi Mom!"

"Unlocked it when you said you were on your way, Katie," her father says with a chuckle, drying his hand on a dish towel as he makes his way over. He dusts a kiss to her cheek in greeting. "I have learned a few things, you know."

Kate laughs. "Good to know. So, what are you two up to?"

Eli's still in the kitchen, mixing... something into a bowl, but she can't tell what it is.

"Making cookies," he fills in, twisting around to look at his mother. "Grandpa said we can add chocolate chips and then take some home with us."

She smirks at her dad. "Did he now?"

"Guilty as charged," Jim says. She watches him glance back to her son before turning around, eyeing her suspiciously. Just as she's about to ask what _he's_ up to, he does the honor of going first. " _So_. Who's Rick?"

Staring at him, all she can do is blink, let out a small huff. "What?"

"Rick, Katie," he smiles. "Something you need to tell me?"

"No," she drags out, brows furrowed. "Is there something you need to tell _me_?"

Jim shakes his head. "Nope." Her eyes narrow, and he breaks with a laugh. "Eli told me."

Kate breaks her gaze away from her dad and trails it to her son, who's still working diligently in the kitchen. He appears now to be taking the cookie dough out of the bowl and rolling it into tiny balls to place onto the baking sheet.

"What exactly did he tell you?"

They move to the table just outside of the kitchen, so they can sit down while still making sure Eli doesn't do anything sneaky or dangerous. She's genuinely curious to know what the boy could've told her father that has him asking about Rick in a way that insinuates... well, that it's anything.

Nothing happened.

This is Eli's first after-school trip to her dad's since her birthday, and it makes her wonder if he'd said something about this to his friend and his mother, too. She hopes not.

"Well, that he nearly caused you a heart attack, for one."

"He said that?"

"Not in so many words, but he did say he left the apartment while you were asleep," he amends, and she nods. Ah. "Doesn't take a genius to know that when you realized he was gone you freaked out."

She purses her lips. "No, suppose not."

Jim smiles. "Don't worry, Katie, he promised he wasn't going to do it again." He's told her as much, but it's always reassuring to hear it from someone else. "Went to a Richard Castle signing, I hear."

"Yeah, he did."

"Your mother would be over the moon."

A smile tugs at the edges of her mouth; yeah, her mother really would get a kick out of it. Richard Castle was, after all, _her_ favorite author before he was Kate's. She'd tried to get her to read the books but she'd always turned her mother down. Not her thing, she'd said. But after she died, reading them made her feel closer to her. In her darkest moments, they made it seem as though sometimes the good guys can come out on top.

"I know," she agrees on a laugh. "Nothing she would've enjoyed more than hearing that her grandson snuck out of the apartment to go see Richard Castle."

"I _also_ hear that he walked Eli home."

"You say that as if there's more to it," she comments, giving him a look. "He did walk him home—which I thanked him profusely for. The book itself was nice of him too."

"Signed it, right?"

"Yeah. It was a very sweet surprise from a very sweet boy," she says, taking a peek at Eli. The cookies seem to almost be completely on the tray. He's rearranging them, and she can't help but laugh at the precision he's going for. "But there's nothing to tell, Dad. He walked him home, I invited him in and offered him coffee."

Her father raises his brow. "Did you now?"

"Yes." Kate rolls her eyes. "He'd just brought my kid home for me when he didn't have to, so the least I could do was make him a cup of coffee. We talked, that's all."

"Hmm."

"There is no _hmm_ , Dad. It was—it was nice, yeah." It _was_ nice. She enjoyed it. "He's different than I would have expected."

Jim leans against the table. "How so?"

"I don't know." She shrugs. "Page Six and pretty much every other media source has him pegged as this playboy, womanizer, whatever. But he came across as very genuine; just a normal guy. It was easy to talk to him, I guess."

"And are you still talking to him?"

She shakes her head. "He gave me his number," she admits. It's been a little over a week, but they haven't talked since. "Said I'd call him to get together for coffee when I was free."

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere," he father grins, and she just shakes her head, lets out a sigh. "Are you going to call?"

"I—"

Is she? There's always the possibility that he was playing her during their conversation, switching off the charm in place of something more genuine, but deep down she doesn't believe that. No. She's good at reading people, has to be with her job, and he didn't appear to be deceiving her.

It'd be nice, she thinks. To have a friend outside of her son, her father, and work. Someone to talk to, just—something new.

But still, she has to be careful. There's no such thing as too much caution when her son is involved, and she has to think about him too. About how he'll react to having someone new around—though he _is_ the one who brought Rick over in the first place—and how they'll interact if they were to see each other more often.

It's a difficult balance, being a single mom and talking to men.

"Call him, Katie."

"What?"

"Call him," he repeats. "You may be all grown up now, but you're still my little girl—I can still tell when you want something. And you, my dear, want to call him. What could it hurt?"

Good question.

"I don't know," she sighs.

Jim places one of his hands on top of hers. "You devote all of your time to that beautiful boy in there and your job. You deserve to have some fun, Katie."

She manages a small smile, a nod. "We'll see. Maybe I'll call, okay?"

"That's all I ask," he agrees, satisfied.

"They're ready to go in the oven, Grandpa!" Eli calls from the kitchen, and she watches her father rise from his seat and make his way in. "Mom, they're gonna be good. There are like, a _million_ chocolate chips in here."

"A million, huh? Looks like we'll be eating chocolate chips for _weeks_."

"It's a sacrifice we must make for cookies," her son sighs, his eyes brightening when she starts to laugh.

She watches on as her father and son work together to carefully put the cookie sheet into the oven and set the timer. Eli has the oven mitts on while her dad stands behind him, hands covering her son's smaller ones, carrying the tray with him so he doesn't accidentally drop it or burn his exposed forearms. Watching the two of them together is always her favorite; they both look so happy each time, it has her heart swelling with love for her father and son.

They're having fun, and maybe her dad's right. Maybe she can have some too.

Steeling herself with a resolute nod, she makes a decision. Tomorrow, during her lunch break, she'll call Rick.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you all for the insane support you've showed me with this so far.


	5. Chapter 5

He's a few pages into the next chapter he's supposed to send to his publisher when his phone vibrates against the desk, the buzz startling him. Pushing his laptop to the side, he reaches for the device and peers at the screen. It's not a number he recognizes, and against his better judgement, his hope skyrockets.

With a grin, he answers. "Y'ello."

"Hi, Rick?" Jackpot. "It's Kate. Eli's mom."

It's endearing how she thinks he wouldn't remember her. A week or so is nothing—she's intriguing, he's not soon going to forget.

"Of course, I remember. It's nice to hear from you."

"Yeah, sorry it took a while. Work takes up most of my free time."

Leaning back in his chair, he rests his head against the back. "Don't worry about it. You said you'd call when you were free—there was no time limit to the offer, you know."

"I know." She pauses. "So, uh, how are you?"

"Me? Days filled with dodging calls from blood sucking ex-wives slash publishers. So really nothing out of the ordinary." He says it so casually, and she has _so_ many questions. Ex-wife _and_ publisher? There's a story there. "But enough about me, I should be the one asking you that. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

It's automatic, and Rick gets the impression she's accustomed to that response. _But_ he doesn't really know her, not at all, and so he won't push right now. He's sure—or he hopes, at least—that there'll be a time for that later.

"How's Eli?" he tries instead. "No more daytime excursions I hope?"

Kate lets out a chuckle. "No. I think he's learned his lesson. He's doing good. He's at school right now, obviously, but he's... yeah, doing pretty well. Thanks for asking."

"He's a good kid," he says, and he can practically hear her proud smile through the line. "I hope the rest of your birthday was entirely less eventful."

"Ah, yeah, definitely. I think it's hard to get _more_ eventful than losing your kid for an hour," she says with a huff. "We watched some movies, had some popcorn. Kept it really relaxed since the rest of the day was so... hectic."

He laughs in agreement. She has a point; it's probably a bit hard to top that, though he's still under the opinion that she did not _lose_ Eli. Losing implies misplacement, and she didn't misplace him—he left on his own. She may have been unaware of his whereabouts, but it wasn't of her own doing.

"So, Kate... you know, I don't actually know your last name, but you know mine. That seems a bit unfair don't you think?"

She rolls her eyes. "Thought you would've checked up on me by now."

"You thought wrong," he tosses back.

Kate hums. "Well, in that case," she drawls, "it's Beckett."

"Kate Beckett. I like it."

"Thank you?" she laughs. "It's all right, I suppose."

"It's a strong name. Has a nice ring to it. It fits you." He gets up, making his way into the kitchen to dispose of the bowl he's had sitting on his desk for hours. At the time, an entire bowl of chips seemed like a _wonderful_ idea, but in hindsight he probably could've done without. "Okay, _Kate Beckett_ , to what do I owe this phone call?"

"I did say I'd call when I'm free," she reminds lightly. "I'm on my lunch break."

"You might have prepared the worlds quietest lunch."

She lets out an amused laugh. "That would be because I'm not eating anything."

"That's kind of what a lunch break is for. _Lunch_. You know, the second meal of the day where you consume food with your mouth," he jests, relocating to the living room so he can take a seat on the couch.

Kate huffs. "It's _also_ an hour of free time. I'll usually catch up on paperwork or keep working."

"Okay, so if you're not partaking in the usual festivities of your lunch hour, what are you doing?"

"Talking to you, obviously."

He's about to make a comment about that being even better, when he stops himself. A smile blooms across his face as a light bulb goes off in his head. He has an idea. A brilliant one, if he does say so himself.

"Why don't you do both of those things?" he asks. "Say, in ten minutes?"

There's silence and then, "what?"

"Talk to me, but in person, and eat lunch, also in person. With me—I'm the person."

"I don't—"

"Lunch is the second most important meal of the day. If you didn't eat breakfast, then it's the first most important meal of the day and it'll count as _two_ meals," he tells her. "Besides, I haven't eaten yet either, and I'm starving."

He leaves out the bowl of chips. That doesn't count as a lunch, and he really _is_ hungry.

"I only have—" She glances down at her watch. "Forty five minutes left of my break. I can't go too far."

"I can come to you," he says easily, already standing as if she's agreed to this impromptu outing. "There have to be small cafes near you. I'd just need to know where you are. Unless you don't want to get lunch, which is completely up to you. No pressure. Just thought it'd be a nice compromise."

She thinks she might be losing her mind, but she actually wants to do this. She thinks back to yesterday, how she'd promised her dad that she'd think about it—about calling him and doing something exciting for a change.

She promised that she'd try to have fun. That she'd allow herself to get out there, talk to people—Rick, in particular—and try something new.

"12th precinct. Meet me at the cafe on the corner."

* * *

He makes it to the cafe closest to the 12th precinct in what he believes is record time and prays it's the right one. She didn't really specify, just said the cafe on the corner. And, well, this _is_ on the corner.

It takes a few seconds of scanning the cafe to realize he's made the right decision, and his eyes land on Kate sitting at one of the far tables. She already has a coffee in front of her, her elbows resting on the edge of the table, and he smiles as he walks over.

"Hi," he says, pleased when she returns with a smile of her own.

"Hi."

Taking the seat opposite her, he observes her coffee of choice—he has no idea what's in it, of course, but she doesn't seem to take it black and there's some kind of foam design on top—then looks over to the counter. There are a few options food-wise; pastries, some pre-made sandwiches, cookies and other baked goods. A sandwich would be most filling, and his stomach grumbles at the thought.

"I'll go get a coffee," he says after a few seconds. "Can I get you something to eat?"

Kate shakes her head. "No, I'm okay. Thanks."

"Come on, something small? You have to have something to keep you going for the rest of the day."

Sighing, she twists to look at the display as he had moments ago. "A muffin?"

"Chocolate chip?" Upon her nod, he smiles. "Perfect. Be right back."

He returns a few minutes later with his coffee, the chocolate chip muffin, an apple turnover, and a small turkey panini. When he sits back down, he passes the muffin over to her and opens his sandwich.

"The apple turnover's up for grabs."

"Rick, I'm fine with a muffin," she assures him.

"I know, but I saw it there, looking amazing, and it was calling out to me. _Buy me, buy me_. If anything, we could always split it."

She snorts. "Okay."

There are a few minutes of silence, neither really knowing what to say. It's not awkward, per se, but it's not _not_ awkward either. He finishes half of his panini and watches as she continues to pick at the muffin, ripping pieces of the top off and popping them into her mouth. He grins when she picks at the apple turnover, too.

"Is this weird?" he asks. "I mean, we don't really know each other, aside from that one night. But I had a nice time, aside from the whole Eli-missing thing."

Swallowing, she glances up to meet his eyes. "No, I wouldn't say weird. I'm just not sure where to start."

"How about with the basics, then?"

She sits up straighter. "Okay. What are the basics?"

"Shall we make it interesting?" At her raised brows, he backtracks. "20 questions. We go back and forth, asking what we believe to be the basics _or_ just things we're curious about. We have to be honest, but we each also have the option of vetoing any questions we don't want to answer."

Kate pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, contemplating. There are some things she doesn't feel up to answering right now, but this does seem like a pretty painless way to break the ice and actually start talking to each other.

"All right. Game."

"You go first."

"Okay," she says, thinking through her first question. Start off easy, she supposes. "Why did you kill off Derrick Storm?"

His eyes widen, taken aback by the question. Definitely not what he thought she was going to ask. "Wow, you really do read my books," he comments, but she continues to look at him, imploring. Okay. "The simple answer? I was bored."

"Bored?"

"Yeah. Writing him wasn't fun anymore. There were no surprises—everything was so predictable. The thrill wasn't in it for me anymore, and I knew that if I wasn't able to give it 100%, it wasn't going to be my best work. I would rather end on a high, on my own terms, than have it crash and burn because I couldn't do it right."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Kate nods, but there's something off. "Why does it look like I... upset you?"

She shakes her head. "No, you didn't. I was just curious." He doesn't believe her, can see in her eyes there's something else there, a real reason behind the question beyond mere curiosity, but he lets it go. "Your turn."

"Mine has a contingent question." Nodding, she waves for him to go on. "You said you were a detective last time, right? That's why you mentioned the 12th precinct?"

"Or I could just be a criminal who's being detained there."

He blinks. "Ah, but then you wouldn't be here on a lunch break."

"Detective, yes," she concedes with a roll of her eyes. "Contingent question?"

"Why did you become a detective? I mean, you're good looking, beautiful—and beautiful women like you often become lawyers, not cops."

Her face changes; she blushes slightly at the compliment but schools her features otherwise. Gaze averted, her tongue darts out to lick at her dry lips.

She clears her throat. "Veto," she murmurs.

"I'm sorry," he says then, noting how his question has changed her entire demeanor. "I didn't—"

"Don't be sorry," she tells him, offering a tight smile. "It's just—maybe some other time."

He nods. "Of course. No rush. Your turn."

After a few moments, she seems to compose whatever happened in reaction to that question. Her mouth twists to the side as she focuses no longer on what he's asked but instead on what she's about to.

"Explain the police horse incident."

Rick gapes. "You—how do you know about that? And that's not a question."

"Detective, remember?" she quips, rolling her eyes. "Fine. Can you _please_ explain the police horse incident?"

"It was a dare, _Detective_." Kate smirks. "I was... slightly intoxicated at the time of said dare, and I could not turn down the challenge. No police horse or police horse operator was harmed in the accepting or execution of the dare."

"I can only imagine the things you haven't been arrested for," she comments with a laugh.

He waggles his eyebrows. "You have no idea."

Biting back the response sitting on the tip of her tongue, she merely bobs her head at him. "Your turn."

"I understand if you don't want to answer this, but... is Eli's father in the picture?"

Ah. She'd expected this question to come sooner or later. It doesn't take a detective to notice that it's just the two of them, and she's become accustomed to this line of questioning from both new friends and acquaintances alike.

"No, he's not," she answers, wringing her hands. "He died when Eli was three."

"Oh, Kate, I'm sorry." Instinctively, his hand crosses the table and covers her own. "Was it serious?" She's about to answer, but his eyes widen. "Wait, no, I don't mean—obviously it's serious if he _died_ , I didn't... I meant were you and he..."

She laughs. "Relax, I know what you meant." He exhales, his lips quirking upwards. "We were and we weren't. We met during my sophomore year of college after I transferred to NYU," she explains, and he makes a mental note to eventually ask where she studied before she transferred. "We dated for a few months, into junior year, and we were still practically kids when I got pregnant."

"Was he there for it? I mean, everyone I know who had kids in high school or college broke it off pretty soon after."

"Yeah," she breathes. "He was, actually. Mark was a good guy—stuck around during the pregnancy, was there when Eli was born. We drifted apart after, but it wasn't really anyone's fault. We were both still so young. He was a jock, had sports, and I was focused on my degree. It sucked not having him around as much, dealing with a lot of it on my own, but I know he cared about Eli. He tried."

"Did anything change after you graduated?"

"For a little bit," she admits. "Eli was about two when we graduated, and as soon as we had our degrees he told me he wanted to be a better father. He'd come around more, play with him, do those things parents are supposed to do with their kids."

Kate pauses, takes a deep breath, and he finds himself bracing for whatever it is she's going to say.

"A few months later, he was in a car accident. It was dark, he was with a few of his friends, and another driver slammed into them. He and one of the other guys didn't make it. They said he was thrown from the car."

"Wow," Rick breathes, gently squeezing her fingers. "That's horrible. I'm so sorry. Does Eli remember much?"

She shakes her head. "I don't think so. When he was five he used to ask me about him, but I didn't—I had to explain it using his pet fish. It had died, and he knew it was gone, so I told him the same thing happened to his dad. He's older now, so I'm sure he'll have actual questions at some point and I'll have to tell him what really happened, but I hope I still have time before I have to have that conversation."

"You'll deal with it when it comes, and you'll figure out exactly what to say," he says. "It'll be okay."

Nodding, her lips turn up into a small smile. "I hope so. He's a great kid, he deserves so much more than I think I can give him sometimes."

Rick cuts her off. "That's not true. I've only known you for a few days, but I can already tell you're a great mother."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because of the way Eli lights up when he talks about you."

Her head lifts at that, surprised. "What?"

"He was so happy to be getting you that signed book for your birthday," he tells her honestly. "When I offered to add 'happy birthday' to the inside, the kid practically started bouncing on his feet, saying how excited you'd be. How he hoped you wouldn't be mad, because he just wanted to get you something special. He loves you, Kate."

She chews on the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay. She knows Eli loves her. He tells her every morning before school and every night before bed—like the sweet boy he is—and no matter how mad he gets, what tantrums he pulls, she knows he does. But hearing it from someone else, who's heard it from her son without prompting... well, it's nice.

Really nice.

"Thank you," she says thickly, a genuine smile on her face. Her phone chimes, her reminder that her lunch break ends in 5 minutes. Swiping discreetly beneath her eyes, she sighs. "I have to get back to work."

As she moves to stand, he wraps the other half of the sandwich in a napkin. "Take this?"

She laughs but doesn't protest, taking it from him with a nod. "Thanks," she murmurs. "We should do this again. You have my number now?"

"I do."

"Great." Standing behind her chair, she pushes it in. "I'll talk to you later then."

Rick watches her walk away; she reaches the door and looks over her shoulder with a grin before exiting.

"Later," he whispers to himself.

* * *

 **A/N** : As usual, you've all been wonderful.


	6. Chapter 6

There's something about December, about the holiday season in general, that heightens the number of murders, leaving it nearly impossible for her to take a decent lunch or leave when her shift ends. This makes it difficult to see her son during the hours she normally would, let alone Rick, but they've somehow been making it work.

Sometimes they'll text (she replies when she gets a chance, but his cheerful messages keep a smile on her face), other times they'll talk on the phone at night, after Eli's gone to bed and she's free to relax, and a few times they've managed to meet up. The greetings don't last long, fifteen minutes at the absolute longest, but it's nice to see a friendly face.

Today, by the time she's finally able to leave work and go pick up Eli from her dad's, drive them both home, she's exhausted.

"Go get your pajamas on, bud," she says, tiredly tugging the jacket from her body.

Eli stops, turns to her. "It's 7:30."

Is it really only 7:30? It's dark outside, feels like so much later, and her body has convinced herself it's time for bed.

"Oh. Well, come over here and take off your shoes."

He does as he's told before stopping in front of her. "Are you okay, Mom?"

She musters a smile for her boy. "Yeah," she breathes, running her hands through his hair. "I'm fine, baby."

He doesn't say anything at first, just looks up at her with eyes so much wiser than his eight years. He has the same expression she does when she's thinking about something, and sometimes it's still jarring to look down at this little person and see so much of herself.

"I'll put my pajamas on."

She laughs. "You don't have to go to bed yet, E. You still have until 9:00."

Whether _she'll_ make it to 9:00 is another story.

"You put your pajamas on, too," he says. "We can put the blankets on the carpet and lay down and watch a movie."

Kate smiles, cupping his face with her palm. "I think that's a great idea. Why don't you go pick a movie and get changed? I'll be in there soon."

Nodding, he charges off, sliding across the floor and through the hallway to his bedroom. She leans against the wall of the entryway, taking a deep breath.

Sometimes this job has her _so_ incredibly tired, worn and burned out, but coming home to this kid makes it all worth it. She doesn't remember what life was like before him anymore, and she's not sure what she'd do without him.

When he slides back into view, she's still standing there.

"Mom," he says, catching her attention. "Pajamas! Do you need coffee?"

She laughs at that, finally starts to move. "No, thank you."

"But you use that to wake up, right?"

"I do," she confirms. "But if I drink it now, I'll never sleep."

"Oh. Don't do that then. You need to sleep," he says firmly, so serious.

Kate slides past him, squeezing his shoulder. "That I do," she agrees with a nod. "Now go pick a movie. I'll change."

She makes quick work of shedding her work clothes, her entire body relieved once its freed from the confines of her dress pants and blouse. Grabbing a pair of leggings and a t-shirt from her drawer, she throws them on, reveling in the comfort they bring. She keeps her feet bare and decides to throw her hair up into a quick bun before heading back into the living room.

Eli has already piled a few blankets onto the floor, and she helps by bringing the couch cushions down and propping them up as pillows.

"What's the verdict?" she asks, sidling up to the tv. He hands her a movie. "Ratatouille?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, Ratatouille it is," she says, taking the DVD from its case and popping it in. Once she hits play, she joins her son on the blanket bed they've made up and lays back.

Eli leans against the blankets, eyes glued to the screen, and she loops an arm around his back, pulls him towards her. He goes willingly and ends up leaning against her side instead, his head now resting on her shoulder.

He'll eventually get too old for her to do this, will eventually protest and not want to cuddle with his mother, but for now she cherishes it. He's still her little boy, accepting of his mother's affection, and she's grateful.

Pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, she smiles as she rests back against the cushions and shifts her attention to the movie.

* * *

When she wakes, she's still on the floor. It's pitch dark now, save for the opening credits of Ratatouille that continue to roll on the screen. She peers at the clock on the cable box: 12:36am. Looking to her side, she finds Eli has rolled off of her but not gone far, now sprawled on the other side of the blankets, face squished into the cushion.

Seems they both fell asleep before the movie even ended.

She debates waking him and having him move into his bed, but he looks surprisingly comfortable. Instead, she grabs one of the blankets from her end and covers him, pulls it up to his chin to keep him warm.

She, however, is going to move into her bedroom. After dusting a kiss to his cheek she stands, uses her phone as a light to make her way through the hallway.

It's only a matter of minutes after her head hits the pillow that she's asleep once again.

* * *

She manages to get Eli off to school in the morning with minimal struggle, and work, thankfully, is a welcomed change of pace. It's day two of this particular case and they finally get a break, something to go off of, and if things pan out how she thinks they will she shouldn't be here past her shift's end.

Around 4:00, she's proven to be correct. They catch their killer, and though it takes the better part of an hour to get a confession from him, she's still out of the bullpen a little after 5:00.

As she's putting her seat belt on, her phone rings. She doesn't bother checking the caller ID before answering. "Beckett."

"Hi." She knows that voice.

"Hi," she echoes, breathless as she finally twists back around, no longer tossing her stuff into the backseat.

"This a bad time?"

"No, it's fine. What's up?"

"You still at work?"

"I'm not," she smiles. "Caught a break, finally."

"Ooh nice, I'm glad. You've been running yourself ragged lately," he says. "Hopefully now you'll be able to get a good night's sleep, yeah?"

Kate laughs. Unlikely, but his optimism is appreciated. "I won't hold my breath, but this _does_ mean I can spare my dad from having to feed Eli again."

She knows her father doesn't mind having her son there for dinner, but she doesn't want him to have to feed him every day. That's what she should be doing, coming home at a decent hour and being able to put food on the table for her kid herself.

He clears his throat. "That's what I was calling about, actually."

"About my dad feeding my son?"

"What? No," he clarifies, and she chuckles. "Dinner."

She hums. "What about dinner?"

"I was wondering if you—and Eli of course—would like to come to Chez Castle for dinner."

"When?"

There's a beat of silence. " _Well_ , since you've finally been freed during what is supposed to be dinner time... tonight?"

She doesn't answer right away, instead pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as she weighs her options. She hasn't been to his apartment before, and it's not that she doesn't trust him—she does—but she still knows to be cautious.

It's inevitable, though, isn't it? That she and Eli would eventually visit? It seems like the logical progression of things. They're friends, and friends _do_ go to their friends houses.

"Uh," she starts then, taking a breath. "Sure."

"Really?"

There's a smile in his voice.

"Yeah," she confirms. "I'm actually about to go get Eli now, so we can head over after we drop his stuff off?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll text you the address."

"Okay," she says. "We'll see you soon."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Eli asks, now seated in the backseat as she makes her way towards SoHo.

"Do you remember Rick?"

"Yeah. I'm the one who went to him first," he reminds, and _yeah_ she hasn't forgotten.

She huffs. "You have a point. Well, he invited us over for dinner."

Kate steals a glance in the rear-view mirror, watches Eli catch her gaze.

"Oh, okay."

That's it? She'd have expected... something more. A question, maybe. But nothing comes.

"Is that okay with you?" she asks, turning around briefly as they stop at a red light.

Eli nods his head. "Yeah. He's cool."

"Is he?" she inquires, twisting back when the cars begin to move in front of her. "Why do you say that?"

"He writes books, and I really like books. And we talked about sports and school and stuff when he walked me home," Eli divulges. Of course, she knew some of what they'd talked about during that walk because Rick had told her that night, but it's nice to hear it from her son. "He doesn't seem that old."

Kate laughs. "What?"

"You know, some adults act like they're old. He doesn't, and it's really cool."

She's fairly certain this is his way of inadvertently calling Rick childish, but she knows Eli means no malice when he says it.

When they pull up to the SoHo apartment building she's been given the address of, she takes it in. From the outside, apart from the doorman and obvious signs of money in the gold detailing, it looks like a normal building.

The doorman greets them with a smile, and when she tells the man at reception they're there to see Richard Castle, he simply nods.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Castle called to say there would be people coming," the man, whose name tag says Eduardo, tells her. He smiles. "Go on up to the top floor, Miss."

Nodding, she guides Eli into the elevator and presses the button for the top floor. That, she expected.

Top floor means penthouse.

"Mom, come on," Eli says, practically dragging her from the elevator the second the door opens. "I'm hungry."

"Manners," she reminds, to which he gives an exaggerated nod. "Be sure to thank him."

"I will."

She pulls on her son's jacket, stalling his progress. "And don't make him think I don't feed you," she says, ruffling his hair.

Eli merely grins, tilting his head back to look at his mother. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you told Mrs. Murphy you hadn't eaten in three days," she deadpans. Mrs. Murphy is their next door neighbor; they don't see her often, but they'll exchange pleasantries in the hallway. The last time she'd run into her Eli was trailing behind, and had apparently told the elderly woman that he was _starved_ when she made a comment about how thin he was. He's gangly, yes, but he looks like any other kid his age.

Something about older women and needing to fatten up all of the children in the vicinity, she's sure.

"I was kidding!" Eli promises with a laugh.

"You said it with a straight face, E."

She knows her son. As good-natured as he is, he's still an eight year old boy and she's remiss to admit he gets his deadpan sarcasm from her.

"I didn't know she'd take it seriously," he says, looking up at her.

Kate laughs. "I know." Pulling him into her side, they continues their trek to the end of the hall. "You're lucky she didn't call child protective services on me, kid," she teases.

Eli merely shakes his head, a smile on his face.

The sound of shuffling can be heard a few seconds after Kate knocks; a moment later, the door swings open and Rick greets the two of them with a smile on his face and a cloth in his hand.

"Hello, Becketts," he says, gesturing for them to enter before closing the door behind them. "Please, make yourselves at home. Dinner should be ready in a bit."

"What's on the menu?" she asks as she peels Eli's jacket from his arms.

"Italian. I hope that's okay with you?" She nods. "And Eli?"

Eli nods, and Kate answers on his behalf. "Oh, he'll eat anything."

"Perfect," Rick grins.

She takes a few moments to look around the apartment. It doesn't look anything like what she was picturing in her head. There are a few statement pieces, the ceilings high and the glass windows exquisite, but nothing about the place flaunts how much money she knows he has.

Instead, it's cozy, has a comfortable atmosphere to it. The apartment feels lived in, like a home rather than just a space.

"So, Eli, how are you?" Rick asks, coming around as he unties his apron.

"Good, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful. Polite, this one." Kate smiles. "I'm doing great. Hey, Eli, do you like games?" Rick asks, and the boy nods enthusiastically. "I have a whole collection in the living room." He points to the entertainment center. "You're more than welcome to go see if there's anything you like. Maybe we can play one after dinner, if that's okay with your mom."

Eli beams, looking to his mother. "Can we?"

It couldn't hurt. "Sure, go pick one out."

When he makes his way into the living room, Kate watches as he drops to his knees to open the cabinet. He's pulling out piles of board games and video games alike when she turns her attention back to the man standing beside her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asks, flicking her gaze to the kitchen. Pots filled with unknown food items are boiling, and there's a bowl of what looks like lettuce on the counter, surrounded by fruits and vegetables.

"Do you think I asked you here to put you to work?"

Humming, she strides past him. "No, but that doesn't mean I can't help."

"The pasta's almost done," he says, following her into his own kitchen. "Can you make a salad?"

"I think I can handle it."

They work side by side, finishing up what's left—Rick with the pasta and sauce, and Kate tossing the salad with dressing and throwing in the necessary additions. By the time they finish, Eli's walking back over with a large box in his arms, a smaller box on top.

"Find something?"

"Maybe," Eli says, holding the two boxes. "What's UNO?"

Rick grins. "Ah, the game that can break the strongest of friendships."

Eli's brows wrinkle, and he looks to his mom. Kate laughs. "It's a card game, E. I used to play it with grandma and grandpa when I was younger. And Rick's only _slightly_ exaggerating when he says it can be brutal."

The boy considers this, eyeing its box as it sits atop his other potential option, Monopoly.

"Can we play it?"

"We can show you how it goes, I'm sure," Rick says, turning to Kate. "Think you can handle UNO?"

She rolls her eyes. "This isn't my first rodeo."

Kate watches on as they begin to discuss the game, and after ten minutes Eli announces that he thinks he'll be able to do it. She grins; UNO was always one of her favorite card games. It's fairly easy, and as hardcore as people get playing it, she's always found the dramatics of it to be fun. Definitely makes for some extremely entertaining evenings.

They put the food on the table and sit down, passing around the different bowls to choose what they want. Kate puts pasta on a plate for Eli and lets him dish out his own salad, then takes some for herself. As they eat, Rick asks Eli about the hobbies he's heard he enjoys—what books he's currently reading, what he's learning in his favorite subject, and his thoughts on those pictures on the internet of animals being photoshopped to have human arms.

It's sweet, how he engages him.

Kate, on the other hand, didn't realize that was even a thing that people did, and she can't help the laughter that spills over when Rick googles an image for her. A goose with human arms. Ridiculous.

"That was delicious," she says, taking a deep breath as she leans back in the chair. "Thank you, Rick."

"Yeah, thanks," Eli echoes the sentiment, nodding. "The pasta was really good."

Rick laughs. "I'm glad you liked it. And it's my pleasure—you're both welcome over anytime."

"We should get going soon, E," she says, grabbing their plates to bring them into the kitchen. "You have school tomorrow."

Eli groans. "But Mom, UNO!"

"And you shouldn't be cleaning up, you're a guest," Rick says, sliding up beside her.

"Just putting them in the sink."

He raises a hand in surrender. "Okay, okay. And we _did_ kind of say we'd show him how to play UNO," he reminds with a small smile.

They did, but she also didn't realize they'd spend so long talking over dinner.

Kate sighs, looking Rick's shoulder at Eli, who has his best puppy dog eyes on display. "Fine, but we'll play one round and then we have to go, okay?"

Her son's fist pump of victory pulls a laugh from her throat and she rolls her eyes, moving to join him on the living room floor.

* * *

The two of them somehow entice her into staying a bit longer; Rick won the first game and Eli said he'd win the next, to which Rick told him to _bring it on_. He'd looked over at her, an apology, and though she had tried to hold her ground about the _one game only_ thing, she's enjoying it too. And so she caves, tells Eli that he'll be going to bed early tomorrow make up for the late night, and he agrees.

"I won," Eli grins, throwing his arms into the air.

Both adults laugh. "Yeah, you did. Congratulations, kid. You're an UNO natural."

After the game ends, they sit around and talk for a little bit. Fifteen minutes in, she realizes Eli's stopped contributing and feels a weight against her side. She can't say she's surprised.

"Come on," she whispers, running her hand down his arm, urging him to get up. "It's time to go."

Eli makes a noise, somewhere between an assent and a grumble, and she sighs. He's either really falling into a deeper sleep right now or he's ignoring her, pretending he can't hear what she's saying. Whichever it is, she doesn't get a response.

"Eli," she tries again. "You've gotta get up, bud. I can't carry you out to the car."

"I can."

She looks up at Rick, who's now standing over them. "Oh, no, that's okay. You don't have to," she insists, though she offers a smile. "He can walk."

"Uh, Kate," he says, looking at the boy. "I don't think he's walking anywhere."

Glancing at her son, mouth pursed as he rests against her shoulder, she sighs. " _Eli_. You're too old for this."

"Really, I got him," Rick assures her, and before she can protest again he's bending down, grabbing beneath her son's knees and around his back and picking him up. "See? All good."

"Thanks," she murmurs, pushing to stand herself. "I'll grab his jacket."

She drapes it over the boy so he won't be cold once they go outside, and then leads him out to where she'd parked across the street. Eli looks so much smaller in his arms; it's been so long since she's seen him look this little. She hasn't been able to carry him like that in a few years, not since he's grown too tall and too heavy for her to do so comfortably, but Rick isn't even breaking a sweat.

Opening the door to the backseat, she steps aside. "You can just put him in here. I'll buckle him in."

Rick does as he's told and then moves out of the way so she can lean over her son, pulling the seat belt over his sleeping body and securing him in. Pressing a kiss to his temple, she steps back and closes the door, turning to the man standing there.

"Thanks again," she breathes. "He's usually able to at least make it to the car."

He shakes his head. "It's not a problem. I don't mind."

She bites at her bottom lip. "Yeah. Well, I should get him home," she says. "It was fun tonight. Next time you can come over our place."

"Definitely." A smile tugs at his lips. "Goodnight, Kate."

He leaves with a small wave and she returns the gesture, leaning against the driver's door for a few moments longer before getting in herself.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you all so much.


	7. Chapter 7

With the chapter he was supposed to have gotten to his publisher a week ago—oops— _finally_ finished, Rick closes his laptop and leans back in his chair. He could get started on the next one (and _should_ , since technically he's still behind) but after spending the past few hours churning out the last of this one, he's not really in the mood.

When his phone goes off and Kate's name lights up the screen, he smiles.

"Well hello."

"Rick?"

He chuckles at the lift in her voice. "You _are_ the one who called me, you know." Aside from a deep breath, there's silence on her end. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she says finally. "No. I mean—I have a favor to ask, and it's super last minute so you're free to say no—"

"Kate," he cuts her off. "What is it?"

She sighs, and he can practically see her running a frustrated hand through her hair. "This case is going nowhere fast. We have—well, practically nothing. But it's _rough_ and I can't... I can't leave, not right now, and I forgot my dad left for the cabin early this morning for the weekend and I don't—"

"You need someone to get Eli from school."

"Yes," she breathes, grateful that she didn't have to say it. "Like I said, I know it's out of the blue and I wouldn't ask if I had anyone else I could call..."

"Kate, I'd be happy to," he says easily, and she lets out a relieved exhale. "I can pick him up and bring him back to my loft. He'll be fine, and you can just come by whenever you get out."

"Thank you, Rick. I owe you."

He shakes his head. "You owe me nothing. No buts," he adds, already knowing she's going to protest. "What time does the school let out?"

"3:00. His class is usually released in the back, by the playground." He writes it down on a pad, even if he's unlikely to forget. "Again, thank you."

"It's not a problem. I promise, I don't mind."

There are muffled sounds in the background, voices he assumes belong to the two partners of hers. Some details are called out but he can't make out what they're saying, and she mumbles something before telling him she has to go.

Locking his phone, he places it on his desk and makes his way into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee. He glances at the clock and realizes that he has about five hours until he has to go pick up Eli, which gives him plenty of time to think of things to keep the boy entertained until his mother returns. Rick assumes it'll be later in the evening, which he has no issues with, but he doesn't want the kid to be bored.

He watches the coffee brew as the ideas churn in his mind.

* * *

Around 2:15 he decides to leave, just in case there's traffic on the way. Which, in New York City, is pretty much a given. Eli's school is about twenty minutes from him _without_ traffic, and so he gives himself an extra twenty five for good measure. He doesn't want to end up so late that Eli's left with no one there when he gets out.

It becomes clear when he's stalled a few blocks away that leaving early was an excellent decision.

He manages to make it to the school at 2:51. Nine minutes to spare; he'll take it. Turning the car off, he gets out and stands by the gate already swarming with a handful of other parents waiting for their children. He assumes Kate, or her father, waits there as well when they come to pick him up.

Makes sense, he figures. It gives the kids somewhere specific to look for their parents.

Rick pulls the collar of his jacket higher, hoping to spare his neck from the chill. With his hands tucked into his pockets, he blows out a breath. The snow that had fallen a few nights before has since melted, and though he's disappointed he does appreciate not having to stumble in slush. He just hopes it'll be a white Christmas.

"You're new," one of the mothers says, and Rick twists in the direction of the voice.

It's not a question, and the woman looks at him with a glint in her eyes that has him verging on uncomfortable. Luckily for him, he has a talent for plastering on a neutral face, acquired over the years after a number of horrific press incidents.

"I'm sorry?"

The mother tuts, rubbing her gloved hands together. "You're new," she repeats. "I know most all of the parents in my boy's class. So, whose parent are you?"

Oddly enough, he's grateful she doesn't seem to recognize him.

He clears his throat. "I'm here for Eli," he says after a moment. He's not entirely sure he should be telling her anything, but she's staring at him, waiting, and she would figure it out when he walked away with the boy anyway.

The blonde hums. "Ah. _You're_ the elusive father," she muses, and before he can correct her, she's continuing. "Eli's mother isn't here often, and I'm not judging, of course," Her tone suggests the complete opposite, "but I would just expect her to pick up her son more often. But now we get to meet the father." She calls over to her friend, another woman dressed as if she's going to a high end luncheon instead of picking up her child. She looks equally as taxing. "Emma, this is Eli's _father_."

How did this happen?

"Ooh," the woman—Emma, apparently—grins. "A looker, too. Where have you been hiding all this time? Haven't seen you here before."

"Uh, no," he says finally, shaking his head. "I'm not Eli's father."

They actually look disappointed. "Oh. Well, who are you then? If we think there's anything suspicious going on we're obligated to let the staff know, and children cannot be released to strangers."

Who _is_ this woman? She reminds him of his ex, and he's suddenly thrilled Kate doesn't have to deal with them on a daily basis. He's not worried about her, of course, but he's certain these Upper East Side mothers, as nosy, condescending and pretentious as their predecessors, wouldn't survive the interaction.

"I'm a friend of Kate's."

Emma whispers to the first woman, whose name appears to be _CeCe_ (of course it is), and he's fairly certain she just said that maybe he's the reason Kate doesn't have the time to pick up her son. CeCe snickers, first murmurs something he doesn't quite understand but finishes it off with a pleased smirk and, "...a working girl."

He has every intention of letting it go until he realizes they're insinuating that Kate doesn't have the time to pick up Eli because she's... what, a prostitute? A sugar baby? Which would make _him_ the sugar daddy?

It's baffling how far these women will go to throw around stories about another woman, and one they don't even _know_.

"Enough," he says, turning back towards them. It seems to catch them off guard. Good. "Can I ask what issue you seem to have?"

He's positive they have many issues, but he's only interested in one.

Emma shrugs nonchalantly. "No issues here."

"It's just," CeCe starts; he knew one of them wouldn't be able to resist talking about whatever problem they have with Kate. "I don't think it's appropriate to have your boy toys pick up your child because you're too _busy_."

"Have you ever had a conversation with Kate?"

"Well, she's not here, is she?" the woman retorts.

"That doesn't answer my question."

The blonde lets out a dramatic sigh. " _No_ , we haven't."

Well, that explains why they're still breathing.

"I suggest you try it next time before you judge. Maybe you'll learn a few things," he tells them as calmly as possible. Yelling, as much as he'd like to, would get them nowhere. "And by the way? I am her _friend_. I do not pay her for any kind of service, nor does anybody else. And if I hear either of you implying that Kate doesn't care enough about her son to be here herself again, next time I won't be so civil."

He doesn't tell them Kate's job is what keeps her away, or that Eli's father passed and that's what keeps _him_ , because it's neither his business to tell nor their business to know.

With that he turns away and steps between a few more parents to get to the front of the group, but not before smirking at the shocked looks on both of their faces. At least they have the grace to look somewhat embarrassed that he'd heard their stage whispers.

A few minutes past 3:00 children begin piling out of the school building. Some make beelines for their parents, others dart to the playground and toss their book bags onto the gravel, and some merely stroll out of the doors and make their way over at a leisurely pace.

Not too long after the first rush of kids has dispersed, he finally catches sight of Eli. The boy has his bag slung over his right shoulder and Rick watches as he says goodbye to a few friends when they part ways. It takes a moment before he begins searching near the gate, and there's a brief look of confusion on his face when he notices Rick, not his mother or grandfather.

It only lasts a second, and then there's a smile as he bounces towards him.

"Hi, bud," Rick greets, jokingly tugging the boy's beanie over his eyes to get a laugh.

Eli pulls it back, then looks up at him. "Hi, Rick. Is my mom at work?" He nods. "Where's grandpa?"

"He went to his cabin for the weekend, and your mom called to see if I'd pick you up. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, awesome. Does this mean we're going back to your apartment?"

Rick nods. "Uh huh. We can decide what you want to do after, but we should get you back and find some dinner. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good."

Turning, Rick leads Eli back through the now-smaller crowd of parents still waiting for their kids to come out. Emma has since departed but CeCe remains, and he steadfastly ignores the gaze he feels piercing his skin. Out of the corner of his eye he can see her watching them, Rick's hand on Eli's shoulder, with a scowl on her face.

What a pleasant woman.

* * *

"So," Rick starts once they've entered his loft, "what are you in the mood for?"

Eli pauses, placing his backpack on one of the kitchen stools. "Burgers?"

"I don't have anything to make them here, but we can go out and get some."

"Cool," Eli says, nodding. "I should do my homework first. Mom doesn't like it when I go out without finishing it."

Rick watches as the boy unzips the bag, pulling out a folder filled with papers. It's the little things he's been learning over the past few weeks that continue to show him just how wonderful of a mother Kate is. Eli's polite, he insists he do his homework even when she's not around because of what she's taught him; he's just a good kid.

"No problem. How about I make us some hot chocolate while you work?"

At Eli's nod, he rounds the island and pulls out the box of hot chocolate mix from the cabinet. He has, admittedly, been entranced by the new Peppermint Mocha drink at his local coffee shop and hasn't yet had a chance to enjoy his hot chocolate, but it sounds perfect right about now.

"Do you have any computer paper?" Eli asks, and Rick swivels to look at him. "I have to draw something for my art homework, but I only have notebook paper."

"I think I should have some in my printer," he says, holding up a finger as he treks into his office. If there's none in the printer itself, he's sure he has a stack of unopened printer paper on one of the shelves. He finds it in the printer tray after all and grabs a few pieces in case he needs more. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Rick."

Eli starts to draw and Rick finishes up the hot chocolate, plopping a few mini-marshmallows into the mugs for good measure. When he slides the mug in front of the boy he looks up to smile at him and then returns to his work, grabbing a few different colors from his pencil case.

He decides to sit on the couch instead of hovering at the counter, and starts flipping through some channels to see what's on.

It's roughly twenty minutes later when Eli emerges, sliding off the stool and into the living room. "Can we go get food soon?"

Rick nods. "Of course. We can go now if you want."

"Please. I'm _starved_."

He laughs as he stands, patting Eli's shoulder as he walks past. "Well, then we _must_ go immediately. Can't have you starving on my watch—your mother would never forgive me."

Eli chuckles, picking up the pace to catch up with him as he makes his way towards the door. "See, _you_ knew it was a joke."

"What?" Rick asks, interest piqued.

"I said that to this old lady who lives on our hall and she looked real panicked," Eli explains as he pulls on his coat. "Thought my mom wasn't feeding me."

"Did she?"

Following Rick through the hallway, he nods an affirmative. "Yeah. My mom says we're lucky they didn't call someone to take me away. The old lady gives her dirty looks sometimes when we see her in the hall, even though I told her it was a joke."

"Some people just don't understand certain jokes," he tells the boy, who groans but nods anyway. "Come on, let's go get you some food."

* * *

An hour later, the two sit in the booth at Remy's, their plates empty and stomachs full. Eli's opted for a chocolate shake to accompany his meal, and it seems to have hit the spot.

"This place is so cool," the boy says, looking around. "We should have Mom come here sometime too."

Rick smiles. "That would be nice. I think she'd like that."

He'd love to bring Kate here, maybe on a date that's acknowledged as such. And then again, with the three of them. He gets the vibe that while he thinks his feelings may actually be reciprocated, she's not really in the place for a relationship right now. Though he hopes he's wrong, that's okay with him. He's more than happy to be a friend, to the both of them, and wait until she's more ready.

"What time do you think my mom's gonna be back?"

Truthfully, Rick has no idea. "I'm not sure. How late does she usually work?"

The boy shrugs. "It changes. Sometimes she's home in time to pick me up from school, and sometimes she picks me up from grandpas a little later. Sometimes I don't see her until I wake up."

"Does that happen often?"

"No," Eli shakes his head. "Only once in a while. She'll call and tell me it's a really important case and so I'll stay with grandpa for the night."

"That must be hard."

"It's okay," Eli sighs. "I know she really doesn't like staying that late. She's doing it to keep people safe."

Rick's lips curl upwards. "That's a good way to think about it. She's saving a lot of people by doing what she does, you know."

"I know. She puts the bad guys away, and she always tells me that it's so they won't hurt anyone else."

"That's right."

"Uh huh. She always comes home as soon as she can, so it's okay. But I do miss her," he admits, looking down at his shake. "I wish she was home more."

Rick's chest tightens. He knows it would kill Kate to hear that her son misses her and wishes she was home more often. But he also knows, now that Eli's confirmed it, that the boy understands why she isn't. For such a young kid he has a pretty positive take on the whole thing, understands and is proud that she's doing something good, putting criminals behind bars.

"Hey," he says, trying to lighten the mood. "How about we go to the park? We could throw a ball around, or hang out on the playground?"

Eli perks up at that. "Do you have a glove?"

"I have a few old ones at my apartment; we'd just have to go get them."

"Let's do it!"

* * *

They make it to the park just before 6:00, and Rick makes it a point to keep his phone's volume on high just in case Kate calls. Nothing so far, and if he hadn't heard from Eli that sometimes she works really late, he'd be worried.

Then again, he assumes she's going to call him with some kind of an update.

Tossing a glove to Eli, he tells him to go stand by a tree about 50 feet away. "You ready?"

"Yup," Eli calls, punching his closed fist into the glove. "Ready!"

Rick throws the baseball, pleased when Eli catches it and throws it back fairly easily. He remembers being told the boy likes sports, baseball being one of them, so it doesn't come as too much of a surprise.

They toss it back and forth for a while before Rick begins to fake him out; he pretends to throw the ball, watches Eli hesitate and run for a ball that isn't in the air, only to look at him and realize.

"Hey! You're withholding the ball," Eli says, pointing.

Rick plays it off. "I have no idea what you're talking about. You must be confused."

Eli runs up to him, but Rick keeps his arms behind his back. The boy reaches around him, one arm on either side of Rick's torso, but to no avail. Rick then holds his arms up, way out of the boy's reach. That doesn't stop him from trying though, and Eli jumps up, colliding with Rick's chest as he attempts to stretch for the ball in question.

"Rick," Eli laughs, jumping up and down in place. " _Rick_."

Finally, he lowers his arm. "Oh," he gasps in mock surprise, holding the ball in front of him. "Is _this_ what you wanted?"

Eli finally plucks the ball from his grasp. "You play dirty."

"Whatever do you mean?"

The boy rolls his eyes in a motion that's practically identical to Kate. There's no doubting this is her child—besides the obvious facial similarities, Eli's mannerisms are 100% Kate Beckett.

"Hey, Rick?" Eli says moments later, staring down at the ball in his hands.

"Yeah?"

"This is fun."

"It is, isn't it? I've had a lot of fun today," he confirms, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everything okay?"

Eli looks up, nodding with tight lips. "Uh huh. It's just—" He pauses, shifting his weight, kicking at a patch in the grass. "I don't really have anyone to play catch with. Or come to the park or anything like that."

"You have your mom," Rick says, but he knows what he means.

"I know. She's taken me here a few times, but when she's tired I feel bad asking. And it's not—it's not the same." Eli plays with the glove clutched in his hands. "All of my friends go to games with their dads and play catch outside and stuff."

"Do you remember your dad?" he asks quietly, not wanting to upset him.

Eli shakes his head. "Not really. I have photos, but I don't remember ever being with him."

"I'm sorry, Eli. You were really young."

He's not sure what else _to_ say; sorry is useless, he knows, but it's better than nothing.

"It's okay," he says, taking a breath. He finally lifts his gaze from his hands. "If I don't remember, then I can't really miss it. I just wanted to thank you. This really was fun." There's a pause, a hesitation before he makes eye contact. "Maybe we could... maybe—if you want to—play catch again sometime?"

Rick can't help it anymore. He puts one arm around Eli and tugs him into his side, a bit surprised that the boy comes willingly.

"I'd like that a lot," he says seriously. Pulling back, he makes sure Eli's looking at him. "And your mom would love to play too—I promise. She may not _always_ be up for it, but it never hurts to ask. I bet you'll be surprised. And I would also be happy to come to the park with you, okay?"

Eli nods, and the smile returns to his face. "Yeah. Thanks, Rick," he beams.

It's gotten progressively darker since they've arrived at the park, and Rick suggests they start heading back to the loft before they're bathed in blackness. As they make their way down the path, his phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi." Kate. "How's Eli? Not too much trouble, I hope."

Rick looks to him, ruffling his hair and getting a laugh as he tries to dodge it. "Not at all. We're just leaving the park now, heading back to the loft. How's the case?" She groans. "That bad, huh?"

"Awful."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

"You're helping plenty, trust me," she says, her voice soft. "I just—I might be a few more hours. I'm sorry. We're actually getting somewhere and if we can just follow this one lead down, we can pick up fresh tomorrow. I can ask someone to come pick Eli up if you want."

He knows she doesn't exactly have anyone to pick him up or else she wouldn't have needed his help in the first place, but there's no way he's going to make her stress about this.

"He's fine, Kate. I promise," he tells her as they walk. "I can give him a t-shirt to wear if he wants to change out of his clothes, too."

"Thank you," she says for the millionth time. "I really do owe you."

"And again, you do not. I'm going to leave a key under my mat outside, so whenever you get off you can just let yourself in, okay?"

"Sounds good. Can I talk to him?"

Rick pulls the phone away from his ear, handing it to Eli. "Your mom."

"Hi, Mom," Eli smiles into the phone.

"Hi, baby. Are you having fun with Rick?"

"Yeah, it's great. We played catch and got burgers!"

Kate laughs. "Sounds like you had a good day then," she says. "Do you think you can hang out with Rick for a few more hours? And then I'll be coming to get you, I promise."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry, E," she sighs. "You know I don't like being here this late. What do you say we go out for ice cream tomorrow to make up for it?"

Eli laughs. "It's okay, Mom. I'm not upset," he promises her, and Rick smiles from his side. "You're keeping everyone safe."

"I love you, kid," Kate breathes into the phone. "So much."

"I love you too. And I will take that ice cream."

Kate chuckles, knots loosening from her chest. "Deal. I'll see you later, okay? Be good for Rick."

When Eli hands the phone back, he stuffs it into his pocket before squeezing the boy's shoulder. He really is a great kid.

* * *

When Kate lets herself into Rick's apartment just before 9:00, she's greeted with darkness and the muted sounds of a television.

Making her way inside, she heads towards the noise and enters the living room, her heart jumping at what greets her. Rick and Eli are on the couch, popcorn spilled between them, and her son is leaning against his side, head lolling against the man's shoulder as he sleeps.

"You're back." She jumps at the voice, hand covering her heart. "Sorry," Rick chuckles.

"I thought you were asleep," she whispers back, watching as Rick expertly extricates himself from the sleeping boy. He's wearing a large Batman t-shirt she can only assume belongs to Rick, and she grins.

He motions for her to follow him into the kitchen, and he flips on one of the dim lights above the stove. Even in the subdued lighting he can practically see the color drained from her face; he gestures to the chair, coaxes her to take her coat off and sit down.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She shakes her head. "I'd really just like to forget about it, actually. Fingers crossed, it should be closed tomorrow."

Rick nods. "Good. And until then, you can rest," he says, opening the cabinet and grabbing a box of tea. "I doubt you'll want to be up all night with coffee, and this tea has been known to aid in relaxation."

"Is that so?" she asks, mouth twisted to the side.

"It is," he confirms, filling the kettle and waiting for the water to boil. "Relaxation guaranteed."

Kate hums. "Can't wait. Thank you—for the tea, and for today."

"I'm happy to help on both accounts, and I'm _pretty_ sure you've reached your max usage of _thank yous_. For like, the month. I'm more than thoroughly thanked."

She rolls her eyes and twists her head to watch her son sleep.

"Go join him; I'll bring the tea in a minute."

Instead of protesting she goes willingly, takes the place Rick had vacated before and seats herself next to her sleeping boy. When Rick brings the tea, she nods gratefully and he situates himself in the armchair beside her.

Within fifteen minutes, most of the tea is gone and he turns to find Kate asleep, her head resting on top of Eli's. Smiling, he pulls the blanket from the back of the couch and covers both of their sleeping bodies.

* * *

 **A/N** : I'm continuously floored by all of your sweet words. Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

"What are you going to do with this day off?"

Kate glances at the clock, sighs when 8:17 in bold, bright lettering blinks back at her. "Not sleep in, I guess."

"You could go back to sleep," he suggests. "I'm sure it'd be better than nothing."

It's true—any extra sleep is better than the very few hours she gets during the week, but Eli should be up soon and she wants to make the most of this day off. She doesn't get to see him nearly enough.

"I'll go to sleep early tonight," she reasons, holding the phone tightly to her ear as she peels herself from the bed. "But as for other plans, I don't have any at the moment. Figure I'll just take it as it comes, see if Eli has any ideas."

"I'd say that's a plan in itself."

Huffing, she pads into the kitchen to start on her coffee. "I suppose it is."

"I'll let you get started with your day, and I'll talk to you later?"

"Okay," she breathes, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Bye, Rick."

She goes about her morning routine, finishes her first cup of coffee and then goes into her bedroom to get dressed. She trades in her pajamas for a pair of casual jeans and a plain white long sleeved shirt, opting for comfort. Though really, anything other than her dress pants and blouse are a welcome change.

Around 9:00, as she's mid-way through her second cup of coffee, Eli makes his way into the kitchen, slides himself onto a chair. He rubs tiredly at his eyes, resting his chin in his palm.

"Late night?" she laughs. He always looks so dead to the world first thing in the morning. "What'll it be, kid?"

"Do we have waffles?"

Checking the freezer, she turns back. "We do. Two?" At his nod, she takes them out and places two into the toaster, waiting for them to pop up as she pours him a glass of apple juice. "Here you go, sleepy."

"Thank you."

"So," she drawls. "Have any ideas of what you want to do today?"

Eli cocks his head, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I have today off, silly," she reminds, her heart lifting at his bright smile. " _So_ , whatever you want to do—within reason, of course—we can see about making happen."

"Really?"

She leans forward, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Really."

The toaster spits the waffles out, and Kate puts them onto a plate with some syrup before sliding them over. He nods in thanks, and she watches the wheels turn in his head as he takes a bite.

"How about... the zoo?"

"The zoo?" she asks. She hadn't thought of that. Eli nods. "Bronx?"

Shrugging, he shoves another piece of waffle into his mouth. "Any zoo."

"I think that's doable," she says, resting her weight against the counter. "Any animals in particular you want to see?"

"The lions. And the elephants."

She almost forgets how her son shares her affinity for elephants; he has a few stuffed animals, but in recent years he's shoved them into his closet, saying he's "too old" to sleep with them now. It breaks her heart, but she knows this is all a part of her baby boy growing up. She too went through a phase where she thought she was too grown up for stuffed animals and all of the staples of her childhood.

"Mom?" She turns her attention to him, humming in question. "Can—I mean, would it be okay if Rick came?"

"Rick?" Eli gives a shy nod. "We can ask him, baby, but... what made you want to invite him?"

The boy gives a half-hearted shrug. "I don't know," he says, but she knows that's not all there is to it. She waits him out for a few moments. "He's cool. And I like hanging out with him. And I think it'd be fun if we could all hang out, you know, together." There's a pause. "Is that not okay?"

Brushing his hair from his face, she shakes her head. "No," she assures him quickly. "If that's what you want, that's perfectly fine. I can give him a call, all right?" He grins. "Finish your breakfast."

Leaving her son to eat, she makes her way into her bedroom once more, grabs her phone from the nightstand. She can't say she isn't surprised Eli asked if Rick can come with them to the zoo, but she supposes maybe she shouldn't be. The two seem to have gotten much closer after that day he'd picked Eli up from school and they hung out.

"To what do I owe this pleasure," is his greeting, and she rolls her eyes.

"I have a proposition for you."

"Ooh, and what would that be?"

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she holds the phone to her ear. "What are you doing today?"

Rick hums. "A lot of should-be writing and not-actually writing, probably. Why?"

" _Well_ , how would you like to go to the zoo?"

"The zoo?"

"Yup," she confirms. "It's what Eli wants to do today, and he asked me if you'd be able to come." Rick's silent for a few seconds, and she even checks the receiver to see if the call's been dropped. "Rick?"

"Yeah, I'm here, sorry."

She takes a breath. "You're allowed to say no, you know. If you're busy or if you just don't want to go to the zoo. Eli will understand."

"No, that's not it," he says, and she waits a beat for him to explain. "I just—this is your day off."

"Yes, _hence_ why we're going to the zoo," she chuckles.

"I _mean_ , don't you want to spend this day with your son?"

Ah, now she understands. And it's considerate of him to think about how she might want to spend some alone time with Eli.

"I will be spending the day with him," she retorts, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her thighs. "I appreciate the thought, Rick, really, but if you would like to come you're more than welcome. Eli's asking for it, and I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. Besides, this isn't my only day off—there will be a mother/son day, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

She rolls her eyes. He's sweet. "I wouldn't have even called if I wasn't."

"In that case, I'd love to go to the zoo with you two."

* * *

They decide to meet at one of the coffee shops mid-way between their two apartments around 11:00. Kate will certainly need some more caffeine for the trip to the zoo, and she figures she can get Eli something small to snack on so they won't have to buy too much there. Zoo prices are always ridiculously inflated.

Rick's already sitting at a table when they arrive, and Kate nods in his direction. "Why don't you go sit with Rick while I get our stuff," she says, and Eli nods, moves out of the line and over to the man.

When she finally makes her way back over to the two boys, they're mid-conversation and all she catches is something about parrots. She laughs.

"Here, E," she says, handing him a small pastry bag. "Hot chocolate and a muffin."

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Should we eat here or get going?" she asks. "I'm not sure how well the food will be eaten on the subway, though."

Rick clears his throat. "I actually got a car for us."

"A car?"

He nods. "I figured it would be _much_ more comfortable for the journey there, but especially for the way back, just in case anyone's tired. Traveling home in a stuffed subway car after a long day is pretty much the least appealing option."

"That's actually a good idea," she says. "Thanks."

The ride to the zoo is over an hour via subway. The traffic might be worse in a car, but it should still be quicker—and if not, at least they'll be comfortable.

"And he's more than welcome to eat in the car, if you wanted to get going."

Nodding, she motions for Eli to stand. "Let's get on the road, kiddo. We'll be seeing those elephants in no time."

* * *

Their first order of business upon arrival is to dispose of their trash, and then Rick goes to grab them a map of the zoo.

"So, where to first?" he asks as he walks back up to mother and son.

"What's closest?"

"Uh... the African Plains are close," he decides, twisting the map around. Truth be told, he's not entirely sure where they are on this map, but he _did_ see a sign for the African Plains. Once they're there, he can figure out the rest and guide their way.

The boy smiles. "Lions will be there!"

Eli leads the way, leaving the two adults to follow behind. He seems to have the same idea as Rick, completely disregarding the map in favor of following the arrows pointing towards their destination. His enthusiasm is contagious; she's always loved this side of her son, so energetic and just so thrilled to see all of the animals.

Admittedly, it's been quite a while since they've been to the zoo.

They make it to the African Plains and wander around for a bit, taking in everything they can. Lions, zebras, giraffes, ostriches. They're all roaming in this exhibit, and once they've made a quick scan of the area the adults stand back and watch Eli, who presses himself up against the fencing that separates human from animal.

"Careful, E. Don't lean too far over."

"I'm _not_ ," he promises, looking over his shoulder. "I won't get eaten by a lion, Mom."

Kate chuckles. "That's all I ask."

The lions are Eli's favorite from this exhibit, but he does like the giraffes. A huddle of them stand off to one side, munching quietly on leaves from the treetops. She's always loved giraffes, too; their long necks were fascinating to her as a young child. She remembers always wanting to ride one, to climb up the neck and hang out.

"He's really into this," Rick comments, and she breaks her gaze away from her son to smile at him.

"Yeah, he loves animals."

They decide to skip on the butterfly garden (Kate's idea to get a photo of Eli with a butterfly doesn't go over too well with the boy in question) and instead head to the Congo Gorilla Forest. The gorillas, of course, are the main attraction, and Eli spends his time huddled next to the glass, hands pressed flat against it.

One of the gorillas comes close, staring at everyone through the exhibit, and Eli gets so excited he nearly starts jumping in place. When it moves in even closer, her son freezes.

"Mom," he whispers. "Look."

She takes a photo as he speaks. "I see it, bud. Looks like you've made a friend."

A giant, hairy friend. One that could very easily rip her son to pieces if let out of that cage, so however cute this moment is she's not all that disappointed about the two being separated.

The world of reptiles is next, followed by the Himalayan Highlands, Tiger Mountain, and the Sea Lions.

Rick and Eli get closest to the sea lions, and when they begin to clap their flippers both of them mimic the motion. They look ridiculous in the best way, so carefree, and Kate can't help but laugh. She takes a number of photos; the two of them clapping, some of the sea lions stretching, and a few of Rick and Eli standing together, pointing at the animals.

After the sea lions, they decide to cave in and buy some snacks.

"What's been your favorite so far?" Rick asks.

Eli hums. "Proooobably the gorilla that pretty much gave me a high five. That was awesome."

"That was very cool," Rick agrees. He turns to Kate. "And you?"

"Sea lions," she says easily. A smirk tugs at her lips. "Though I'm not sure if that had so much to do with the actual sea lions as it did you two mimicking everything they did—noises included. Definitely the funniest thing I've seen all day."

"I think we did pretty spot on imitations, don't you, Eli?"

Rick holds out his fist, to which her son bumps with his.

"Uh huh. Perfect imitations."

When they finish their snacks, it's time to make the trek back towards the entrance they came in to go on the Wild Asia Monorail. That's where they'll be able to see the elephants, and neither Beckett want to leave without that.

Rick notices Eli dragging his feet a little. "You want to take a load off for a bit?"

"Huh?"

The man stops and bends down near a bench. "Climb on."

Eli pauses for a second before complying, climbing onto Rick's back and wrapping his arms around his neck. Kate can't help the soft smile that pulls at the corners of her mouth, and she shares it with Rick when he looks back at her. She lets them walk ahead a few feet, just so she can take out her phone and snap one more photo.

They walk past the World of Birds on their way, and decide it wouldn't hurt to stop for a few to check it out.

Eli remains on Rick's back, attached tightly to his neck with Rick holding his legs so he doesn't fall. They walk up to the front of the exhibit and she follows, admiring all of the different birds in the sanctuary. Some of them are really stunning. After a couple of minutes she takes a few steps back so other people with their children can get a good look, too.

"You have a beautiful family." Kate turns to find an older woman watching her watch Rick and Eli, the latter pointing at one of the black birds in a tree.

She opens her mouth to correct her, but thinks better of it; it's easier to just acknowledge the compliment. "Oh, um, thank you," she returns instead, smiling warmly at the woman. She's in her sixties probably, with gray hair and a kind face.

"He's adorable."

She chuckles as she wonders if she's talking about her son, or the man child currently making bird noises with him. Regardless, she thanks the woman once more, who merely smiles back before continuing on her way.

"You okay?" When she looks back up, Rick's standing in front of her, Eli peering at her from one side. "Looks like you zoned out for a minute."

"Yeah," she says, shaking her head. Gaze trailing between the two of them, she smiles. "I'm good."

"Off to the elephants then?" Eli asks eagerly.

Kate gestures towards the exit. "Off to the elephants we go."

The monorail takes them around the expanse of the exhibit with the elephants, buffalo, and gazelles alike. It's her favorite part, really, because they get to simply sit back and relax while observing the animals in their—almost—natural habitat.

She pulls Eli into her side as they watch on, her palms rubbing at his arm to keep him warm. Rick sits on the other side, and they all watch the animals go about their business. Somewhere in the middle, Rick even begins to give them all names, has Eli laughing between them, and before long she joins in too. Background stories for wild animals seems a bit odd, but somehow it's not—somehow it feels like the most natural thing to be doing. It's _fun_.

When they depart the monorail and make their way back to the car, she can't wipe the smile off of her face.

With her son beside her, stuffed lion in his hands that Rick had bought for him in a shop (he may say he's too old, but she saw his face brighten when Rick said he'd buy it), she couldn't be happier. She tucks her own stuffed animal, an elephant that she'd insisted was unnecessary but Rick insisted was, beneath her arm.

She thinks this might be the best day off she's had in a long while.

* * *

Rick ends up accompanying them to their apartment after Eli mentions how hungry he is—Kate swears this kid would shovel a week's worth of food into his mouth in one sitting if she'd let him—and she makes a comment about how she _did_ promise him dinner would be at their place next.

It's taken a while, but she plans to make good on her word.

"E, go wash up and then you can help with dinner."

"Okay," he says, sliding past the two of them.

"Take your jacket off, get comfortable," she says. She makes a sweeping motion with her hands, gesturing to the apartment. "It's nowhere near as impressive as your loft is, but..."

Rick shakes his head. "No, it's nice." At her arched brow, he laughs. "I'm serious. It has this really nice homey feel to it."

"Well, thanks. Good to know."

He watches her for a few moments as she kicks off her shoes, now padding around her kitchen in just socks. She looks so much more at home, which makes sense since this is, you know, _her home_ , but there's something about how casual she is right now—in the socks, jeans, a simple white shirt—that he finds...beautiful.

"You gonna stand there and stare or are you going to make yourself useful?" Her voice breaks the spell and he blinks, finds her staring at him, brow raised and a smirk painted across her face.

"I'm plenty useful," he tosses back playfully. "Where do you want me?"

He revels in the glint in her eyes, the slight hint of pink that colors her cheeks. But she's good, he'll give her that; she doesn't even bat an eyelash, shows no other outwardly signs of being affected by a question that could take on very different meanings.

"If you think you can handle breading some chicken, you can grab the packet from the fridge. Breadcrumbs are in the cabinet," she tells him, pointing to a corner shelf.

Rick grins. "I think I can manage."

"Good."

He gets everything he needs and lines them on the counter to begin, but not before he catches her in his peripheral vision. She's barely five feet away, her profile to him as she makes a show of pulling her hair into a pony tail. She brushes it away from her neck slowly, running her fingers through the strands until she's able to throw it up nicely.

She meets his gaze and wraps the hair tie around once more before finishing, letting the ends brush at her shoulder blades. With a grin, she says nothing and gets back to business.

Oh, she's _really_ good.

* * *

They work in tandem to finish dinner, with Kate on the mashed potatoes and veggies and Rick keeping an eye on the chicken. Eli is in charge of the dessert, and he does his best to follow the directions on the rice krispie treats with help from the adults when necessary.

Everything comes out pretty delicious if they do say so themselves, and all three chefs are pleased with their work.

"Thanks for dinner," he says after they've cleaned up.

"I did say it'd be at my place next, did I not?"

Rick nods. "You did, yes."

"If there's one thing you should know about me," she starts, turning away from the sink, "it's that I like to keep my promises."

"Duly noted," he smiles. "I'd say that's a good quality."

"I do what I can," she says, patting him on the shoulder as she moves around him. "E, you need to start getting ready for bed, kid."

Eli groans. "Mom, but tomorrow's Sunday! And it's early. There's not even any school."

"No," she agrees, "but today was a long day and you're going over grandpa's tomorrow while I'm at work. We don't need you all tired and irritable for him."

"I won't be irritable."

Kate laughs. "You say that tonight, but if I let you stay up you'll be singing a different tune come early tomorrow morning when I have to wake you up to go over there."

Eli sighs, dropping his game controller onto the couch. "Okay. But I'm telling you, I'll be _perfectly fine_ tomorrow morning."

Hand on his shoulder, she squeezes. "Then you'll show me that, huh?" She kisses his head. "Go on, bud. I'll be in soon."

Eli says goodnight to Rick and sulks into the hallway, leaving Kate leaning against the side of the couch. She runs her hands over her face, takes a deep breath before opening her eyes.

"You're not the bad guy for sending him to bed at a decent hour, you know."

She chuckles. "I know. He'll be over it within ten minutes, I'm not worried." Pushing herself from her position, she nods to the hallway. "I'm gonna go say goodnight. I'll be right back?"

He nods, watches her disappear to go tuck in her son, and then takes a seat on the couch. It's not too late but he's not sure if he should get going too, let her rest and get to bed early. She really does need to get some sleep before she has to head back to work tomorrow morning.

"Everything all right?" he asks after she returns.

"Oh yeah, he's fine. He doesn't even know how tired he is from all of the excitement today—he'll be passed out in no time."

"Good, that's good," he says. He pauses for a moment, then looks over at her. "I should probably get going. You need to get some sleep."

Kate shrugs. "I will. I could use a nice glass of wine first, though." His head lifts, follows her movements as she glides into the kitchen, grabs a glass from the cabinet. "You want one?"

One glass of wine couldn't hurt.

"Yeah, sure."

Nodding, she pulls another glass down and pours wine from a bottle she keeps hidden on a top shelf, far from Eli's reach. She brings them over, hands one to him before taking a seat on the couch beside him, tucking one leg beneath her body.

They don't say too much; conversation flows naturally when they do, though, and he allows himself to relax into the cushions. He's pleased to find that when he looks over, Kate looks equally as relaxed and not nearly as exhausted as she has been lately. Good.

It's comfortable between the two of them, and when they finish their wine and he finally moves to grab his coat from the hallway, she follows. She stands behind as he opens the door, hands tucked into her pockets.

"Thanks for the invite today," he says, turning towards her. "It was a lot of fun."

"Thanks for accepting. I know Eli was really happy that you came. And...I was too."

"You were?" he smirks, face splitting.

Kate rolls her eyes. "Don't act so surprised that I enjoy spending time with you," she tells him, holding up a hand before he can speak. "Don't."

"I have no idea what you're implying."

" _Sure_."

He chuckles. "Goodnight, Kate," he says, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "And for the record, I enjoy spending time with you too."

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as she looks up at him. After a brief moment, she stretches on her toes and presses a soft kiss to his cheek, lets her lips linger for a few more seconds than strictly necessary.

"Goodnight," she murmurs.

He spends the next few moments standing outside her apartment, surprise giving way to a wide smile.

* * *

 **A/N** : You lovely bunch—I am forever grateful.


	9. Chapter 9

He calls during her lunch break and is pleased when he hears the distinct crunch of an apple being bitten into.

"Do you mean to tell me you're _actually_ eating a lunch?"

"I am, shocker," she muses. "Apple and peanut butter. And coffee. Lunch of the healthy."

Rick laughs. "Better than not eating anything. Besides, apples _are_ healthy. Peanut butter just makes it more fun."

She doesn't use her entire lunch break, just long enough for her to finish the apple, and so they talk for about ten minutes before the crunching stops and she tells him that she should be getting back to work.

He manages to wheedle some information out of her before she goes, gets her to tell him small details about the case she's working. It's not much, just that their suspect is some highly revered (or really, _feared_ ) drug dealer. It sounds intriguing and the little bit she offers has him itching to ask more questions about this drug dealer, about possible motives—did someone skimp out on a payment? Steal his inventory?—but she merely huffs and hangs up with what he's sure is a roll of her eyes.

Later, then.

Kate does say she'll call him when she's off work, though, which has become something of a routine.

"It's nice to unwind with someone other than myself," she had said the other day. Sometimes the cases are tough, and it's comforting to either get her emotions out or switch it up and focus on an entirely different subject.

He has no problems with this arrangement, is just happy to help in some way.

It's nearing 11:30 now, and the rumble of his stomach has him sliding into the kitchen to make his own lunch.

He opts for a sandwich and some potato chips, something like he'd get from one of his favorite delis down the street; it's simple, quick, and perfect to relax on the couch with.

Some time later, with his discarded lunch sitting on the end-table to his right, he leans against the cushions and allows himself to get comfortable. Flipping through the channels, he lands on Chopped and spends the next two hours watching people cook with the most ridiculous items. _Goat_ _head_? He knows he's tried some exotic, verging on questionable foods in his lifetime, but this—this is too much.

"So gross," he murmurs to himself, shuddering.

It's misleading, too, because once they finish cooking, nothing _looks_ like it was once a goat's head. If he didn't know any better, he'd never guess. He makes a mental note to figure out what constitutes all of his meals from this point on.

Around 2:00, his phone buzzes on the coffee table. The only call he's expecting is from Kate, but it's a bit too early for that. She can't possibly be done with her shift already.

It's a New York number but one he doesn't recognize, and he figures maybe she's calling from another phone, checking in for some reason. Or maybe it's a telemarketer. He almost doesn't answer it, but if it's the former he doesn't want to miss it.

"Y'ello," he answers, but it's not the right Beckett on the other end.

" _Rick_."

Eli's voice is strangled, panicked. It sounds as if he's been crying, like he still is, and it sends him shooting from the couch.

"Eli? Hey, breathe," he soothes, trying his best to keep the boy calm. Isn't he supposed to be in school? "What's wrong?"

"It's—it's my mom." Eli hiccups, and Rick's heart immediately leaps into his throat.

He's already shoving his feet into his shoes, heading for the door even though he has no idea where he's going.

"What about her?" he asks as calmly as he can. "Eli, what happened? Where are you?"

There's a sniffle. "School. Outside. I—I took one of the teacher's phones and ran."

There are so many missing pieces to this story. Why did he take a teacher's phone and run outside? Why is he crying? If he's at school, what could he possibly have heard about Kate that sent him into this fear-fueled panic?

"I'm on my way, okay?" he speaks into the phone, racing to his car. "Stay where you are and I'll be right there. You hear me, Eli?"

"Yes." Eli pauses and he thinks for a moment he's hung up, but then his scared voice pierces the air once more. "Rick, _please_."

He's not sure he's moved this fast in his entire life.

* * *

Somehow, he manages to shave five minutes off the drive and arrive at Eli's school in fifteen minutes. He sees the boy sitting to the side of the steps, clutching the phone in his hands, and Rick jumps from the car.

He does question why no one seems to notice the boy is missing and no longer in class, or if they _have_ noticed why no one's actively looking for him, but that's something to be dealt with later.

"Eli," he breathes, bending to his level. His heart cracks when the boy looks up, his cheeks stained with tears, eyes red. It takes him by surprise, the way he immediately throws himself towards him, Eli's arms wrapped tightly around his back. "Hey, shh. What's wrong? What happened?"

Eli disentangles himself, his breathing labored and choppy. "She was—she was shot," he cries out, and Rick blinks. "Rick, my _mom_ —"

"What do you mean she was shot?" The boy begins to shut down, hyperventilate, his head shaking. "Eli, look at me. Why do you think she's hurt?"

"I saw it!" It's practically a scream; his voice breaks halfway through, but it does little to mask the pain and fear mixed within. " _I saw it_ , Rick! I know—I _know_ it was her, I saw—"

He rubs calming circles on Eli's back, but it does nothing to calm his own budding panic.

"Where? _Where_ did you see it?"

"TV," is all he says, but it doesn't make any sense. He's in school—he shouldn't be watching TV. "I was—I was sent to the teacher's lounge to get something for my class. They had...had the TV on, it was the news, and they didn't notice me come in." Eli's face begins to crumple again, tears swimming in his eyes. "It mentioned the NYPD so I stopped to watch for a second, and I saw—they had a video, Rick," he hiccups, lip quivering. "Mom was—was chasing someone. The guy turned and—and they..."

His voice trails off as a choked sob wracks his small body, and Rick pulls him into his chest again, just continues to rub soothing patterns on his back. Tears of his own threaten to prick at the backs of his eyes but he blinks them back. Right now he has to keep it together. For Eli, mostly, but for himself too. They don't know what happened; he's inclined to believe the boy, especially after this kind of visceral reaction, but he needs to _know_.

"I saw it and ran," Eli whispers between breaths. "I grabbed one of their phones from the table and I know I shouldn't have taken it or—or left but I freaked out and ran and then I was here."

"Eli, I need you to look at me," he coaxes, urging the boy to lift his head. "Can you do that for me?" He does. "Good, good. How do you know it was your mom? There are so many cops and detectives—"

His face breaks. "Her clothes," he chokes out, terrified eyes boring into his. "It was—it was what she wore this morning. I remember because... because she asked if the green made her look too much like Christmas."

Rick pulls his lips into a tight line, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Okay," he breathes. "Okay. We'll—we'll find her, all right? I promise."

"She was _shot_ ," Eli repeats, the eight year old looking so small right now, just a horrified boy who wants his mom, who's scared for her. "She's never—she was... Rick. What if she's not okay? What if she's—what if she's really hurt?"

Eli's voice gets higher as he goes on, verging on hysterical, and Rick does all he can to keep him calm. It seems impossible, because what young child wouldn't be reacting like this if they saw their parent get shot? He's surprised they even showed the video on television, but when he thinks about it, maybe he's not. News stations love to sensationalize crime; they show violent crime to bolster fear, to make people believe the world is more dangerous than it is.

He knows it, but he also thinks they should lose their fucking jobs for this.

Showing videos like that—what good does it bring? Especially when those hurt have parents, children, family members and friends who could be watching. What if it's—

His throat goes dry as the thought crosses his mind. What if it ends up being a video of a murder? These people would be horrified, having witnessed the moment their loved one died.

But that's not what it is this time, he promises himself. He repeats it in his head, a mantra. It is _not_ a murder that Eli witnessed; he'll be damned if he lets what this boy saw end up being his mother's murder. He won't let it.

Kate's fine. She's okay.

And as he gathers Eli from the ground, guides him into the building so he can tell the principal that he's taking him home (and let off a little steam with regards to _why_ no one seems to have checked outside for him), he hopes beyond hope that he's right.

* * *

The first thing he does is take a shaken Eli back to his loft. He needs to wash his face, and Rick wants to give him something to drink; all of the crying has probably dehydrated him a little, and he wants to keep him as close to fine as he can.

"Rick, we have to go find her," Eli pleads, shaking his head when he tries to hand him water. " _Please_."

Okay, new plan of attack.

"Drink this," he tries again, extending the water. "Sit down and try to relax, okay? I'm going to call your mom's work, and we'll figure out what's going on. I promise. We're going to find out."

He keeps his voice soft, soothing, despite the fact that his insides are on fire, a new brand of fear crawling around his ribs and seeking purchase. But he can't show it in front of Eli; no, absolutely not. If he breaks down, shows how truly terrified he is with what he's been told, it'll only send Eli into another panic.

When the boy finally complies, takes the glass with shaky hands and sits at the counter, Rick makes his way into his office.

He dials Kate's number first, hoping she'll answer and this whole thing will just be some kind of misunderstanding. Eli didn't see what he thought he did, or the bullet missed and she's sitting at her desk, completely whole.

"Come on, Kate," he whispers into the receiver.

But it rings, and rings, and rings until her voicemail picks up. Her voice fills his ear, but not in the way he'd hoped it would. He decides to leave a message anyway; if she's simply away from her phone, in an interrogation or otherwise, she'll get it and then call him back.

"Hey, Kate," he says, clearing his voice. "Just—just checking in. Could you give me a call as soon as you can? I wanted to check on something. Thanks. I'll... talk to you later."

It's not the voicemail he wants to leave; he wants to tell her that they're both terrified and want to make sure she's okay, but he figures an emotional voicemail, verging on hysterical, isn't the way to go. Especially if she's not even hurt, which is what he continues to cling to.

He wishes he had the numbers for her partners, but he has to settle for the precinct itself.

"Hi, I'm trying to get in touch with Kate Beckett. She works in homicide," he tells the man on the other end. When he's asked what this is concerning, he blows out a breath. "I'm calling on behalf of her son."

He's put on hold for what seems like ages, and then the guy finally comes back. "Hello?"

"Yes, I'm still here." He's not going anywhere until someone tells him something.

"Detective Beckett isn't here at the moment."

He's losing his patience.

" _Look_ , I have her son here, who's absolutely terrified because he believes he watched his mother get shot on television," he says bluntly. "Can you _please_ either put me in touch with her wherever she is, or if she's... at the hospital _tell me which one._ "

He hears murmuring in the background, and then a sigh. "Presbyterian. We don't know much else, but...tell the little man that Frank's sorry."

Rick hangs up, the urge to throw up growing stronger with each passing minute. She's at the hospital. The hospital is for people who have been hurt in some capacity; they don't just take you to the hospital for fun. So, whatever happened, she's injured.

"Eli," he calls as he practically sprints into the living room. "We're going to see your mom."

The boy nearly falls off the chair in his haste to run over to him. "You found her? Is she okay? What happened? Where is she?" It's rapid fire questioning, but Eli's eyes never leave his, imploring, pleading. Expectant.

"She's at the hospital," he tells him honestly. He doesn't want to lie, and he'll figure it out when that's where they show up anyway. "And Frank says to tell you hi."

The boy nods, the tiniest hints of a smile tugging at his mouth. "Frank's the guy at the front desk. He's nice."

Rick merely nods back; he doesn't tell him that Frank actually said sorry, because he doesn't know what that means. Sorry for what? Does he know more about Kate's condition than he's letting on, know it's more serious, something that warrants a _sorry_ for her son? Or is he just sorry about the circumstances in general, sorry she's hurt?

Eli doesn't need that uncertainty right now.

* * *

They pull into the parking garage in record time. The boy bolts from the car the second it's stopped, immediately runs towards the front doors. Rick's not too far behind him, and they both sprint up to the reception desk.

"Kate Beckett," Rick rushes out to the woman.

She looks between the two of them, and he imagines it's quite the sight; both out of breath, practically vibrating with anticipation. Though she does work in a hospital, so he assumes she's used to it and much worse.

"I'm sorry?"

He takes a breath. "We're looking for Kate Beckett. She was brought in...I'm not sure how long ago exactly, but we were told she's here."

"Are you family?"

Instead of complicating things, he gives a simple nod. It's not a lie; Eli is her son, and he can't very well go by himself.

"Please tell me where my mom is," Eli pleads, turning his teary eyes to the woman, and she softens immediately.

"It appears she's currently in surgery." Rick nearly falls right there, knees suddenly feeling less like knees and more like jelly, and he can feel Eli's body thrumming beside him. "You're more than welcome to wait in the waiting room on the fifth floor. It shouldn't be too long," she adds with a polite smile.

Eli's already halfway to the elevator by the time Rick murmurs a thank you to the woman and turns on his heels. He reaches it just as the doors open and Eli barrels inside, pressing the button for the fifth floor with an urgency he has yet to see from the boy.

"Surgery, Rick," he whispers. "She'll—she'll be okay though, right?"

Rick runs a hand over Eli's head. "She'll be just fine."

It's automatic, a hope, a wish. It's not a promise, though it may sound like one, and he hopes it doesn't become one he breaks.

* * *

The fifth floor waiting room is pretty much empty, occupied only by the two of them and one other man sitting in a chair against the opposite wall.

They sit in relative silence, Eli wringing his hands in his lap, his gaze unwavering as he concentrates. Rick spends the time observing the doctors, nurses, and patients who wander the halls, with the occasional glance down at the boy beside him. His palm remains splayed at Eli's shoulder in the hopes of bringing some comfort.

Not too long after they settle in, a doctor comes out, and it appears the woman downstairs wasn't wrong about it being a short wait after all.

"Family of Katherine Beckett?" Eli darts from his seat at the mention of his mother.

"How is she?"

"She's doing just fine. The surgery went well, and she's being transferred to a room right now."

"Why did she have surgery?" Eli asks, looking up at the man.

The doctor looks to Rick. He no doubt assumes he's the father and wants to know if it's okay to tell the child what happened. Considering Eli's the one who watched it all happen in the first place he simply nods, allows the doctor to voice whatever it is he has to.

"There was a bullet still lodged in her shoulder," the doctor explains, pointing to the area on his own body. "We had to go in and take it out so it wouldn't cause any more damage or pain to your mom."

Eli seems to accept this. "But she's okay now?"

The doctor bends to his level. "She's doing very well," he nods. "She should be waking up soon. She'll be a little sore for a while, but I'm sure you'll be able to help her so she doesn't have to lift anything heavy, right?"

The boy nods enthusiastically. "Yes. Yeah, I will."

"Perfect. Then she should recover in no time," the man says, straightening back up and turning his attention to Rick. "Mrs. Beckett is being taken to room 512, if you two would like to go sit with her."

Rick nods, and he runs a hand over Eli's head as the doctor makes his exit. "See, bud, she's gonna be okay."

"Can we go see her?"

He wraps an arm around his shoulder, guides him down the hall. "Absolutely."

* * *

She looks... not nearly as awful as the image his mind conjured when he learned she'd been shot. He's heard horror stories, has seen terrifying photographs of people who have been shot and ultimately disfigured, but she looks nothing of the sort. There are a few scratches along the right side of her face, and a giant gauze pad covering her left shoulder, but otherwise she looks completely normal.

Eli stands tall at the side of her bed, grasps at her hand as they wait for her to wake up. Rick sits in the chair a few feet away, not wanting to intrude on the moment or hover. When she wakes up, it's best she not be surrounded by a million faces peering down at her.

They stay like that, Eli refusing to move, for what seems like hours before Kate's fingers twitch beneath her son's and her eyelids begin to flutter.

"Mom?" Eli breathes, eager. Her eyelids flitter some more. "Mom!"

Rick stands then, moves just behind Eli (close enough to see but not close enough to be suffocating) as they watch her finally open her eyes. There's shock, confusion, and hints of pain that cross over her irises in the split second they've been open.

"Eli?" she rasps, brows furrowed. "Baby, what are you doing here?"

He doesn't answer, just greets her with a beaming, teary smile and throws himself at her. She winces, and Rick mumbles something along the lines of _be careful_ , but she does her best to return the hug with her good arm.

She meets his stare over her son's head, and he offers a soft smile. "Hey," he says, letting out the relieved breath he's been holding for hours. "Good to see you awake."

"Yeah," she manages. When Eli finally peels himself from his mother, she bounces her gaze between the both of them. "So...what are you two doing here?"

"Here to see you, of course," Rick tells her. He doesn't want to relay the entire day's events, not right now. Not when she's just woken up and Eli's within earshot. Obviously the boy knows what happened, he was there, but Rick doesn't want to make him relive that again so soon. He doesn't want to upset him further.

She gives him a questioning look but he shakes his head, mouths _later_.

Kate accepts this and instead turns her attention to her son, grabs his hand with her right one. "You okay, E?"

"Yeah," he says. He musters up a small smile. "I am now."

She returns the gesture, runs a hand through his hair before cupping his cheek in her palm. "I'm okay, baby. I promise."

He gives a halfhearted nod before lifting his eyes to hers. "Are you in pain?"

"A little," Kate hums, thumb brushing his soft skin. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

Eli leans forward then, once again hugging his mother. This time he's conscious of her injured side and hugs gently, his touch affectionate but feather-like. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispers into her ear, and her heart seizes in her chest. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, my sweet boy," she murmurs back, and Rick can see the tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm all right, okay? Just a scratch."

Rick chuckles, shakes his head at that. Of course she'd say it's _just a scratch_.

"For what it's worth," he chimes in, makes sure their eyes meet, "I'm really glad you're okay, too."

* * *

They decide to keep her overnight for observation; the doctor assures them nothing's wrong and that it's purely precautionary, to make sure everything begins to heal as it should, and Rick knows the moment they're told Kate's staying, they are too. He's not in any rush to leave, and he's not entirely sure he could pry Eli from his mother's side right now even if he wanted to.

The nurses cave and give him a blanket, which he drapes over the chair before going downstairs to the cafeteria. It's been a long day, and though Eli has declined his offer to buy him something to eat, he chooses to grab something small anyway. Neither of them have eaten since this morning.

When he returns, two pre-made sandwiches and some drinks in his arms, he stops at the doorway.

Inside, Eli has climbed into the bed with his mother. Eli is asleep curled into Kate's side, his head resting on her chest and her right arm wrapped around his body. Her fingers rub absentmindedly through his hair, and her eyes open slowly when she hears him enter.

They don't say anything, but she gives him a smile that's appreciative and soft all in one. Her eyes close again, and he watches on for a few seconds longer. It's beautiful, really, the connection these two have, and sometimes he thinks he's incredibly lucky to be able to witness it.

He puts down the food as quietly as he can, careful not to wake Eli, and unwraps his sandwich. Once he's finished, he tosses his trash into the garbage can and leans back in the chair.

Grabbing the blanket from the chair, he settles in, drapes it across his body and finally lets his eyes fall closed.

* * *

 **A/N** : I know there are some obvious logistical issues in this chapter, mainly with regards to Eli witnessing the shooting on television in the teacher's lounge/that entire section, but as odd a scenario as it may be it was what kind of inspired this fic to begin with. As such, I tried my best to make it work. So, for this chapter's sake, I ask that you suspend your belief a bit—it is fiction, after all :)

As usual, you guys are amazing and I'm immensely thankful for your kind words.


	10. Chapter 10

"Rick, I'm _fine_."

He knows he's hovering a little, but it's hard not to. He's not the only one, either; Eli's been glued to his mother's side since they left the hospital, peeling himself away only when absolutely necessary. The boy waits on her hand and foot, gets her anything she needs (despite her insistence that she still has one working arm), and Rick can only imagine how terrified he must still be.

They've been at Kate's apartment for a few hours now. She was discharged this morning and because, in the grand scheme of things, her injuries aren't life threatening they've allowed her to be released on her own recognizance.

Kate's lack of driving ability at the moment had given him the opening he needed to accompany them to their apartment. Not that he believes she would have said no, even if he wasn't their ride, but it helped his case.

"Humor me," he quips, helping her pour her coffee into a mug.

Kate grumbles but allows him to continue with a weak wave of her good hand. "It's only a graze."

"If it was only a graze they wouldn't have had to remove the bullet from your shoulder via _surgery._ "

Checking to make sure Eli isn't within earshot, she sighs. "I've had worse, you know. This is—" He gives her a look, knows already what she's about to say. "Fine, not _nothing_ , but it's not much in comparison."

"If that's supposed to be a comfort, you've really gotta work on your approach."

He supposes it's good to know she's not in any unmanageable pain, and she's certainly able to get around and go about her day with only minimal limitations, but the knowledge that she's been through worse is far from appeasing.

"I'm sorry," she amends. "I'm just trying to point out that I'm _okay_. I've gotten through worse, and while this does suck and it does hurt, I can manage. I can still do most of my daily routine, I can still make breakfast for my kid, I can still go to work." At his raised brow, she purses her lips. "Desk duty."

"I get it, Kate. I do. It's just—it's scary seeing a friend like this. You were shot. That may be an occupational hazard for you, something you signed up for and know is always a possibility, but I'm a writer. This isn't what I'm used to, and it takes a bit to process. It doesn't mean I don't think you can handle it, it's just—I care. And I don't like seeing you hurt."

She offers a smile then, leans up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "I know," she murmurs quietly. "Thank you, Rick. It's nice knowing someone cares. And I never did get to thank you for taking care of Eli yesterday."

He shakes his head. "No thanks necessary. I'd do it all again. Though I hope if I have to, it's not under the same circumstances."

A small laugh breaks free. "I'll do what I can." She pauses. "You never did tell me how you guys knew to go to the hospital..."

Rick notices Eli emerge from the hallway, his brief separation from his mother caused only by his need to use the bathroom.

"After he goes to sleep," he whispers, nodding towards the boy now making his way towards them.

Kate understands, gives a nod. "Hi, baby," she says, tucking him into her side. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

She bends to dust a kiss against his temple. "I'm good, E, but thank you. Why don't you go rest in the living room? It's been a pretty insane 24 hours."

But the boy shakes his head. "Only if you come with me."

The adults share a look; it's one of some concern, yet understanding. Kate follows Eli into the living room, and Rick decides to clean up the kitchen a bit before joining them.

He doesn't blame Eli for wanting to be with his mom right now. Now, having her here, seeing that she's all right, Eli must want to stick by her to make sure it's real. To make sure she won't disappear if he leaves for too long.

He's positive Kate doesn't know her son watched it happen, and knowing he has to tell her is slowly eating away at him.

"If you're washing dishes, I swear," Kate calls from the living room. "Rick, put down the sponge."

"Who says I'm even holding one?" he yells back.

He is absolutely holding a sponge.

"Because I know you. And I heard the rattling of the cabinet when you went to grab a new one."

Okay, so she has him there.

"I'm simply helping," he says, turning the faucet on. "You can't wash dishes with one hand, Kate."

He hears her exaggerated grumble from the living room and chuckles. He knows she knows that he's right. She _can't_ do dishes with one hand; she could probably try, but it'd be taxing and tedious and a mess. This just makes more sense.

"If you start organizing anything, I'm kicking you out."

Rick salutes, though she can't see him. "Scouts honor."

He can vaguely make out Eli asking his mother, _Rick was a scout?_

* * *

Eli stays attached to Kate the entire night, practically clings to her good side. He remains wrapped around her while they all watch a movie, follows her into the kitchen when she needs something, and when he doesn't physically follow her, his eyes do.

When Kate gets up to go to the bathroom, Rick slides beside him. "Are you okay, bud?"

"Uh huh. Why?"

"You know, a lot's happened in the past day. You must be feeling some things."

"I guess," he admits.

"Are you still scared?" Rick asks.

"A little, yeah." Eli pauses, taking a deep breath as he looks down at his lap. "What if something else happens? What if I'm not with her and she gets hurt again?"

Oh, Eli. The boy alternates between keeping his eyes trained on the hands in his lap and the hallway where Kate disappeared.

"You can't keep thinking that something bad is going to happen," Rick says. Of course, something _could_ happen, but living in that constant fear isn't healthy for an eight year old. Or anyone, really. "Your mom is really good at her job, right?"

Eli nods. "She's the best at her job."

"Then you have to know that she's doing her very best to be safe every day, right? Sometimes... sometimes bad guys get the upper hand and they hurt someone, but you know what?" Eli shakes his head. "Your mom was trained for this. This is what she does best, putting bad guys away. One may have hurt her this time, but that doesn't mean it'll happen every time she leaves, Eli."

"But what if it happens again?"

Rick sighs, puts a hand on his shoulder and gives a soft squeeze. "I can't promise you that she'll never get hurt again," he says, and the boy lifts his gaze to him. "But what I can promise is that she does everything she possibly can to avoid it. And this hasn't happened in a long time, right?"

Eli shakes his head. "No."

"See? So she's doing her job well. Really well. But accidents happen," he continues. "Have you ever gotten hurt, playing a game or running around?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't mean for it to happen, right? They just happened on accident?" He gets another affirmative. "That's what this was. Sometimes you can't control what happens, but you can get back up and keep doing your best to keep it from happening again. Do you understand?"

Eli gives a small nod. "I understand. I know she does her best not to get hurt. But I'm still scared."

"I know you are, and that's okay," he promises. "No one expects you to be fine after seeing something like that. So just... spend time with your mom, but try not to be so terrified when she leaves, okay?"

"I can try. Thanks, Rick."

Eli leans over, wraps his arms around him in a brief hug.

"Of course, bud."

* * *

When Eli's finally asleep, tucked into his bed with a goodnight kiss from Kate, she returns to find Rick still on the living room couch.

He, of course, isn't going to leave until she kicks him out—or until she goes to bed, whichever comes first.

She plops down next to him, rubbing at her temple with her hand. "I forgot how painfully annoying it is only having use of one arm," she groans. The gauze used to cover up the bullet wound peeks from beneath the light t-shirt she'd changed into not too long ago. "I feel... incomplete."

Rick huffs. "You could never be _incomplete_. But I can only imagine how stressful it must be to go to use that hand, only to remember you can't."

"Don't get shot. It's not fun."

Her humor gets to him. "I'll try my best. Only if you promise the same."

She turns then, meets his gaze. Holding out her good hand, waiting for him to take it for a shake, she raises a brow. "Deal."

"Good."

They sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before she breaks it. "So... it's later."

He understands and gives a nod, twists gently to face her. Truthfully, he's not entirely sure where to begin. He knows he has to tell her everything, but he wants so badly to be able to just gloss over it all, say they ended up at the hospital because someone told them, but he can't do that. She deserves to know.

"I uh, I guess I'll start at the beginning then?" he muses aloud, and she just situates herself, waits patiently for him to begin. "Eli called me yesterday, probably around two. I didn't recognize the number but I answered it anyway, thought maybe it was you calling from a different phone for some reason. I didn't even know he knew my number."

Kate grins. "He's good at phone numbers, loves to memorize them. I call him my own personal phone book most of the time." She pauses, brows furrowed. "Wait, he called you? How? He doesn't have a phone." At his look, she nods. "You're getting there. Got it."

"Yeah. He was... he was crying, kind of hysterical, and I had no idea what to do. Kate, it was—terrifying, not knowing what was going on or why he was so panicked." Taking a breath, he forces himself to continue. "I asked him where he was and told him I was on my way. He was sitting outside his school by the steps."

When he finally lifts his eyes to her, he can tell she wants to interject. She looks horrified at the mere prospect of her son being so distraught, and he hasn't even gotten to the worst part yet.

He fiddles with his hands. "When I got there, he told me that you'd been shot."

Her voice is reduced to a whisper when she speaks. "How did he..."

"Apparently the news was playing a video from your... incident. It was on in the teacher's lounge when he was sent in there to grab something for his class."

He stalls, waits a few seconds for her to process what she's been told and pinpoints the exact moment his words click. She gasps, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes become glassy.

"He... he _saw_ it?" It's so quiet, so much shock and guilt laced in her tone. He doesn't want her to think this is her fault. "Oh my god."

"Yeah," he confirms softly. "He grabbed one of the teacher's phones from a table and ran out, and that's when he called me. I got there, and before we left I brought him inside to tell the principal Eli was leaving. I also kind of... confronted them about how a kid wasn't even in the _building_ for fifteen minutes and no one came out to look. Apparently after he ran out, they thought he had locked himself in the bathroom so they didn't search outside—it ended up being a different kid in the bathroom, obviously, but..." His voice trails off; off topic, Rick. Stop stalling.

He clears his throat. "Anyway, I took him back to my loft and I tried to call you first, because I didn't know at the time if he saw what he thought he saw. You know, maybe it was a mistake, so I figured if I got a hold of you..."

"Then you could tell him I was all right," she finishes, and he nods.

"But you didn't answer, so I tried the precinct instead, and some guy named Frank told me what hospital you were at. We got there while you were still in surgery, but you came out not too long after we settled in the waiting room, and then... well, you know the rest."

Kate buries her head in her open palm, her breathing coming in choppy bursts. "I can't believe he saw it. I always knew it was possible he'd see some messed up things on television, regardless of how much I try to keep it all from him, but I never thought he'd see..." Her voice fades at the end and she shakes her head. "I never wanted him to see me get hurt. Rick, he _saw me get shot_."

"I know," he says, inching closer to put an arm around her shoulder. "I know. But it's not your fault, Kate."

"No, I... I know. But he shouldn't—he never should have seen that."

"He's okay," he says in lieu of a reply. "He's still... scared. To let you go. Scared that if you leave it'll happen again."

"He told you this?" she asks, looking up at him. He nods. " _God,_ no wonder he hasn't left my side all day. He thinks I'm going to get hurt again if he lets me out of his sight."

Rick rubs calming circles between her shoulder blades, much like he'd done to her son earlier. "He'll be okay, Kate. He just needs some time to process it all, to really grasp that you're okay, and then, slowly, he'll stop being so afraid."

"He saw his mother get shot, of _course_ he's afraid. I just—sometimes I wish I had a different job. A normal 9-5 job with minimal chances of getting injured. At least then I'd be able to spare him this kind of worry."

"Don't think like that," he says, tilting her chin up with his finger. "You _love_ this job. You do great things with this job, Kate. And Eli loves that you do so much good with this job." She bites at her bottom lip. "And besides, there's inherent risk in any profession. Sure, a cop has a higher risk of getting shot, but think about it—bakers can get their hands or hair stuck in any one of those machines, athletes get concussions and tear ligaments all the time, pretty much every business is at risk of being robbed. So you may be in a higher risk job, but that doesn't mean Eli would be better off if you weren't."

She sighs. "I know," she confirms, blowing out a breath. "I know. And you're right, it's just—it's a lot. I just wish he hadn't seen that, I wish I could... go back, somehow make it so he didn't."

"Me too," he says honestly. "But we can't—he did see it, and he can't unsee it, but with some time it'll fade. It won't be as fresh."

Kate nods but doesn't say anything, just ever so slowly allows herself to lean further into his side. He welcomes her with open arms, keeping one around her shoulder and bringing the other to rest on her hand.

"Can I ask you something?" he asks. She twists so she's looking up at him, hums in response. "I was expecting to see your partners at the hospital, but we were the only one's there."

"That's not a question," she teases, and he huffs. "They followed the ambulance to the hospital. I was conscious up until they had to bring me in for surgery; they had to figure out if the bullet was in my shoulder or not, first, since there didn't appear to be an exit wound. Ryan and Esposito were there for that, but I told them to leave."

Rick's eyes widen. "And they listened?"

She smirks. "They weren't _happy_ about it. But our drug dealer was still out there—we were clearing a house and I saw him run out, chased him, and the boys were a few minutes behind. When I got shot, everything kind of hit the fan really quickly and he bolted." She pauses, takes a breath. "I told both of them to go back to the precinct and find that son of a bitch again. All hands on deck, especially since he shot a cop."

"But that left you alone at the hospital," he says, looking down. "Wouldn't you have preferred having someone there?"

Kate shrugs. "Someone was there."

"Only because we had to search you out," he reminds, and she closes her eyes. "What about your dad? I mean, I'm sure he would've been there in a heartbeat."

"He would have. But like I said before, this isn't the worst on-the-job injury I've gotten. There's no reason to worry my dad every time I get hurt—he doesn't need that."

"You're his daughter, Kate. I'm sure he'd like to know when things like this happen."

She doesn't say anything for a few moments and he wonders if he's overstepped, said something he shouldn't have. When she does speak, her voice is low.

"It's... complicated. I don't want him stressing over this. Nothing good ever comes from it." A million possibilities run through his mind. "I can hear you thinking, Rick."

"I didn't ask."

"Yeah, well you were _not asking_ very loudly," she retorts. He's about to apologize when she sits herself up, faces him. "My mom was murdered."

His eyes widen, mouth gaping as he just _stares_. She hasn't mentioned her mom before, and he'd entertained a few possibilities—that they had a strained relationship, or that she had passed away, but he never thought...

He goes to say something but nothing comes out, and instead he wraps one hand around hers. "It's a long story, but the cliffs notes version is she died, my dad took it hard and found solace at the bottom of a bottle. He's been sober for years, since Eli was two, but..."

"But you worry about what the stress of knowing you got hurt would do to his sobriety," he finishes for her.

Kate nods. "Yeah. He's been doing so well, and the closest he came to falling off the wagon was the last time I got shot. It was—a lot worse than it was this time, and he almost lost it because he almost lost me. _So_ , when something relatively minor like this happens, I don't worry him with it."

He may not completely agree with the decision to keep her father in the dark, but he understands her concerns. Her intentions are in the right place.

"I get it," he tells her, and she gives a small smile. "I won't pretend to understand everything you've gone through and what you have to deal with, but I can promise that I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere, and when something happens or you just want someone to talk to—I'm your guy."

"Thank you, Rick," she breathes, her voice soft. "For everything."

He presses a kiss to her temple, coaxes her into resting against his chest again. "Of course."

They don't speak for a while afterwards, just relax in each other's presence. He finds comfort in the feeling of her heart beating against his chest, the steady thumping that reassures him she's okay. When her breathing seems to even out, he glances down to find her eyes closed, face peaceful as it is slack.

A smile curls at his lips as he watches her sleep, his thumb brushing against the exposed skin of her forearm.

He supposes he won't be leaving when she goes to bed, after all.

* * *

 **A/N** : You're all beyond wonderful, you know.

We're almost at the end, folks. One more chapter + the epilogue to go!


	11. Chapter 11

Christmas Eve rears its head before she knows it; she blinks and suddenly she's spending the day decorating the tree with Eli. She stretches, unsuccessfully with the hindrance of the sling still holding her left arm, to put a few ornaments on lower branches.

Though her shoulder is healing nicely there's still pain, and she doesn't have full range of motion yet. The sling has to stay on for a couple more days at least (Kate's sure she has herself to blame for the extended assistance; so she takes it off sometimes or tries to push the injury too much—she can't help it!) and it's driving her insane.

She managed to go out this past week while Eli was at school, and while the boys were (thankfully) covering for her as she ditched desk duty, to get her Christmas shopping done. It's later than she would normally get it all out of the way, but she's giving herself a pass because of the whole "getting shot" thing. Rick had offered to come with and help her with the trip but because she also wanted to get _him_ something, she'd politely declined.

Since she and Eli are spending Christmas and New Years with her dad at his cabin, Rick is coming over later today so they'll be able to see each other before the holidays are over. Rick's mother is staying with him apparently, having finally returned from her short stint with a Broadway show. Kate has yet to meet the woman, but she sounds... eccentric, from what Rick has told her.

They should be leaving sometime late tonight, after Rick has visited and she manages to get the car packed.

"Why are we decorating the tree if we're not even gonna be here?" Eli asks, delicately pulling at one of the branches to slide an ornament on it.

Kate peeks around the tree to look at him. "Because it's Christmas and decorating the tree is a tradition. Besides, it'll look festive when we return."

Her son shrugs, disinterested but accepting of her answer.

Truthfully, she does this all for him. It took a few years after her mother died to get back into the spirit of the holidays, her father even longer, but she's always tried for Eli. Even if she had to fake the happiness that Christmas brings, she didn't want her son to grow up disliking it just because of her own issues.

She's learned to enjoy the holiday season in doing so, and now she finds herself pleasantly joyful when it comes around each year.

Once Eli's put the final ornament on his side he walks around to her, observes. "Do you need help?"

Just as she's about to decline, she has an idea. "Sure. Why don't you finish this side, and I'll go make us some hot chocolate?"

He nods, sliding the box to an emptier area of the tree with his foot instead of just bending to pick it up. She rolls her eyes, shakes her head. Kids.

"Marshmallows?"

She chuckles. "Is there any other way to drink it?"

"Only the wrong way," he calls after her.

How right he is.

She makes a pit stop in her bedroom first, decides to change into a pair of leggings instead of the jeans she's currently wearing. Sometimes she forgets that she has nowhere to be, not really, and she can opt for comfort. She does put on a wine colored sweater to balance it out, though, dress up the casualness of the bottoms.

On her way back she stops at the window. It finally started to snow last night, and while it's not a blizzard, it does well to cover the city in a nice coat of white. Somehow it feels less like Christmas when there's no snow and so this brings a soft, grateful smile to her lips. She does hope it stays a light dusting until they make it out of the city, though.

Eli's nearly done with the tree by the time she gets the hot chocolate going and he joins her in the kitchen, props his elbows on the counter.

"I can get the marshmallows," he announces, moving to reach for the cabinet. If he stands on his tiptoes, he can _just_ grasp at the bag with his fingertips. He's growing far too quickly for her liking. "Got it!"

"Good job, kid. Throw a few into each mug." Sliding over to the fridge, she twists her back. "Whipped cream?"

Eli makes a face. "Obviously, Mom."

"Sorry, _however_ could I ask such a question," she drawls with a playful roll of her eyes.

She sprays some into each mug, and Eli moves to place a few extra marshmallows on top, because _they're supposed to go on the whipped cream too_ , she's told.

Once all of their decorations are up, she enlists the help of her son to pack the remaining boxes and stuff them into the hall closet. She knows they'll have to drag them back out soon enough when they put everything Christmas related back, but for now she doesn't worry about it.

There are a handful of Christmas movies she has in mind, because what is a holiday without a hot chocolate and movie combo, but so many of them aren't exactly what an eight year old boy would want to watch. So, instead, she makes a list of the ones that aren't _too_ romantic or mushy, adds in some more comedic ones, and tells Eli to choose.

Home Alone, Elf, The Santa Clause, and Unaccompanied Minors are the final four he has it narrowed down to, and he hands them over.

"You can pick."

She settles on Home Alone and says they can always watch more than one—they usually do.

Kate curls herself into one side of the couch and opens her arm, pats it against the back cushion. "Come 'ere."

With his mug of hot chocolate in hand he obliges easily, slides into the space beside her and gets comfortable. Once he's situated she rests her palm on his shoulder, gently pulls him closer.

"Would you forget me at home while you went on vacation?"

She huffs. "Never. It's kind of hard to forget the only kid you have, you know."

Eli laughs, shaking his head, and turns his attention back to the start of the movie.

This is always her favorite part of the holidays.

* * *

It's nearing 5:00 when Rick texts to ask if it'd be a good time for him to come. She responds within a few minutes, tells him they're just finishing Home Alone and he's welcome to come whenever.

"Rick's on his way," Kate says, standing as she moves to bring her mug into the kitchen. "Do you want to get his present from under the tree?"

Eli nods. "Yeah. Do you think he'll like it?"

"I think he will, kid," she affirms, rinsing out the mug quickly. "Bring me your cup."

He does as he's told and hands her his empty mug, which she rinses and leaves in the sink with hers. She'll wash them later. She'd smirked when she first realized that yes, she _can_ wash dishes with one hand. It's not _practical_ , but it's doable now that she's able to wiggle her hand free from the sling. Rick had sighed, called her stubborn, but she only responded with another proud grin.

About half an hour later there's a knock at the door, and Eli rushes to the front entrance to let Rick in.

"What did I tell you about opening the door on your own?" she calls, not too far behind.

Eli huffs. "We _knew_ we were having company," he defends, turning to their guest. "Hi, Rick!"

Rick pats him on the back with a chuckle. "Hey, Eli. Listen to your mom."

"Sure," the boy grumbles, retreating past his mother and back into the living room.

"The teenage years are going to be _so fun_ ," she teases, watching her son leave. Laughing, she accepts Rick's gentle hug. "Hey."

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle him."

Kate nods. "Oh, I was much worse. I know this is karma for all of the suffering I put my parents through."

"Young Kate Beckett was a wild one, I gather?"

"You could say that, yes," she muses, locking the door behind them. "Every gray hair on their heads by 40? All me."

Rick laughs, following her to the counter. She eyes two neatly wrapped gifts in his arms and forces back a smile. She told him not to get them anything, but she supposes that is a bit unfair seeing as they did get _him_ something. She just—didn't want him to feel obligated.

"I know you said not to get anything, but I don't follow instructions well," he shrugs with a crooked smile.

"Your attempt at a stuffed chicken was proof enough of that."

His mouth drops, a hand crashing into his chest in mock offense. " _What?_ That was a delicious chicken, Kate. Probably some of my finest work!"

"It was raw," she deadpans.

"Okay, so maybe not some of my _finest_ work. But the insides were cooked!"

"Correction: the insides were _heated_. Ham and cheese, which, by the way, was lunch meat and hardly needed to be cooked in the first place."

He waves his hands in dismissal, mutters something about how she doesn't appreciate his efforts and she just rolls her eyes, allows the laughter to bubble from her chest. Rick had come over to cook them all dinner during the week following her incident; cooking is much harder with one arm, which she had learned the hard way. Breakfast is easy, as everything is either cereal or microwavable, but meals requiring more technical abilities? Not so much. So, as much as she didn't want to accept help, she knew she had to—Eli, unlike Kate, cannot live off of take out.

"Are you guys done insulting each other?" Eli calls from a few feet away, Rick's present in his hands.

Kate scoffs. "We weren't insulting each other."

"You were insulting me," Rick amends, turning to the boy. "Your mom was most definitely insulting me. And my cooking."

"I know," Eli nods.

Kate gasps. "Hey! You're supposed to be on my side."

But Eli just gives a little chuckle, a knowing look. "I know you, Mom. You were probably insulting him."

"I can't believe my kid's turning on me," she groans, following Rick into the living room. "See what you've done?"

"Nuh uh, this isn't my fault. He's your kid—he knows you. Said so himself," Rick teases.

" _Sure_."

Eli clears his throat. "Now, present time."

"Yes, E, we can all exchange presents now. We apologize for insulting each other." She halts Rick's protest with a finger to his lips. " _Don't we?_ "

He simply nods, hums an affirmative from behind her index finger. Her skin is soft, and it takes every ounce of self control to keep himself from pursing his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the appendage still resting on his face. They look at each other for a good 20 seconds, just staring into each other's eyes, before Kate finally breaks the spell, removes her finger quickly and turns back to her son.

"Okay."

Eli hands the wrapped gift to Rick, who in turn distributes his two presents, one to Eli and the other to Kate. Their fingers brush and her breath hitches.

There's a collective understanding that Eli will open his gift first and so Kate nods, encourages him to start. It appears, as Eli rips away at the wrapping paper, that whatever the gift is is in some kind of box. It's not a shoe box but fancier, more like some sort of collector's box.

Kate grabs at the crumpled wrapping paper her son discards and slides it to the side. Eli opens the box and pulls out a brand new baseball glove. She watches as her son's face lights up, genuinely happy with the gift, and it occurs to her that he doesn't actually have one. Each time he plays, he borrows someone else's.

She can't believe he hasn't said something before about needing his own.

"This is so cool," Eli says, looking up to Rick with a smile.

Rick grins. "I figured you could use your own for when we go to the park." The two of them share a knowing, meaningful look, one Kate doesn't understand but feels her heart leap at witnessing. "Look at the thumb."

Eli's brow furrows but he obliges, twists the glove around to look along the side of the thumb. His mouth opens, an even wider smile taking its place, and he scoots forward, excitedly turning it so Kate can see.

"Mom, _look_ ," he beams. "It has my name on it! It's..."

"Embroidered," Rick offers.

Kate grins. "That's beautiful," she says. It's stitched horizontally into the side of the thumb, _Eli_ written in neat script. "That's—that must have cost so much."

"I kind of _do_ have money."

She huffs. "I know, but still. I—" She looks to her son, who's already sliding it onto his hand, his entire face illuminated. "Thank you."

Eli struggles to stand quickly from his spot and makes a beeline for Rick, throws his arms around him in a thankful hug. "Thanks, Rick! This is so awesome," he says, standing back once more to look up at him. "It'll be perfect when we play baseball and catch and stuff!"

Rick nods, smiling. "That's the idea!"

Kate watches on, her stomach doing flips in the best way possible as she watches her son interact with Rick. It's been a while since there's been any sort of male figure in his life, and while she's only recently come to terms with the realization she wants something more with this man, that she really does want to see where they could take things, she really is glad he's the one Eli's taken to. She's dated a little, sure, but none of them ever got too close to Eli. Both because she guards him too fiercely, and because they always take a step back when they learn she's a single parent.

But Rick hasn't—maybe it's because he met Eli first, because her son found him, but it's almost as if her son is part of the reason he's taken steps forward. She's not sure of the exact reason, but she's grateful. Happy.

It's Kate's turn next, and she opens the smaller gift-wrapped present to reveal a jewelry box. She pauses for a few seconds before she lifts the lid, but her breath is taken away when she does.

It's a tennis bracelet, but much like Eli's glove, it's personalized. On the outside it's stunning—and simple, much like her personal style. On the underside, it has engravings; two dates, and it takes no time at all for her to realize it's her and Eli's birthdays, with a heart in between them.

"Rick, it's gorgeous," she breathes, turning to him.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it." Pausing, she slides it onto her wrist, admires it. "How did you know our birthdays?"

Rick shrugs. "I asked Eli his birthday."

Well, okay, that's easy enough.

"I never told you mine."

"No, but it _was_ your birthday when Eli came to my book signing, so I already knew the month and day." That's right. "And you did tell me that Eli was born when you were a sophomore in college, which means you would have been around 19 or 20. And Eli is 8 years old, going on 9, so I kind of just did the math and hoped for the best."

Kate laughs. "What would you have done if you had engraved the wrong year?"

"Apologize and take it to get it fixed?" he muses, and she grins, shaking her head. "Glad I don't have to, though."

"Me too."

Rick moves next, unwraps the gift delicately, his face breaking into a smile when he reveals its contents. It's one of those combo frames, two connected by a joint between them. On one side sits one of the developed photos Kate took of Rick and Eli from the zoo. On the other side, a photo of Rick and Kate in the kitchen; they're tag teaming a dinner, and it shows Rick laughing and Kate making a face, clearly amused.

"Where did you..."

"Turns out Eli took it," Kate says, pointing to her son.

Eli nods. "Yup. I was doing another art project and it had to be photos this time, so I just kept taking them of everything to maximize my chances of getting something good. That was one of the ones in the pack when mom took them to get developed!"

"This is—I love them, Kate, Eli, thank you. And I must say, _excellent_ photography skills."

"You're welcome," Eli smiles, thrilled with his contribution.

Rick smiles, looking down at the photos. "It's perfect."

* * *

After presents are distributed and opened, the three decide to hang out for a little while before Rick has to leave and they hit the road. The snow continues to whirl outside, casting everything in a blanket of fluff, and Kate watches as the snowflakes fall beneath the street lights. She loves how they seem to sparkle when the florescent lights hit them.

"What's your favorite part about the holidays?" Rick asks. "You know, besides spending it with Eli and your dad."

Kate thinks for a moment, a number of possible answers popping into her head. If someone had asked her this question years ago, she wouldn't have had an answer. She didn't really enjoy them enough to know, but now she has a list.

Her lips curl into a smile. "I can show you," she says in lieu of an actual reply, reaching for his hand to pull him from the couch. "E, will you be okay for ten minutes while I go show Rick something?"

Eli's too preoccupied with the beginning of Elf to really care, but he nods. "Uh huh!"

"I'm locking you in," she tells him, to which he gives another absent nod. "And you won't step foot outside of this apartment?"

Eli groans, finally twisting to look at her. " _Promise_ , Mom."

She smiles at him, lets out a soft laugh. At least he knows better. Grabbing her keys, she leads Rick from the apartment, closes the door and locks it as she said she would.

"Where are we going?"

Kate smirks. "That's the surprise, isn't it?"

He follows wordlessly as she guides him to one of the back stairwells and motions for him to join her. They go up a few flights, and Rick makes a joke about how she could very easily be leading him somewhere to dismember his body. She snorts, rolls her eyes.

When they reach the top she pushes the door open, and suddenly they're on the roof.

"Wow," he breathes.

"I know."

Everything's covered up here, the snow untouched by shoe prints and still perfectly smooth. It's so much more peaceful up here than he would have imagined, though he hasn't really spent much time on roofs to compare.

"You come here a lot?" he asks, following to where she's stopped near the edge.

She leans against the concrete barrier. "Sometimes. When I need to think. But mostly during the winter," she tells him. "It's only a few flights up from my apartment, but it seems like another world when I'm out here. Especially when it's snowing."

He watches as the snow connects with her hair, the flakes condensing and getting caught in her curls.

"It really is nice."

"Yeah," she exhales, letting her head fall back. The snow crashes against her face but she just smiles, sticks her tongue out and lets a snowflake crash against her tongue. "It's not pitch dark but it's not as bright since it's so high up and some nights you can see the stars. I mean, I'm not sure what are flurries and what are stars tonight, but you get it."

Following her gaze, he tilts his head back. The dark of night and lack of city lights this high allow them to be visible, more so than they would be standing on the ground or looking from the vantage point of a lower window. Hindered by the snow as they may be, he understands what she means.

"It's beautiful, the way they fill the sky. It may sound strange, but I just—it helps me relax. Sometimes... with my job, with Eli, sometimes everything adds up and it just becomes a _lot_ to deal with. I'll stress and feel like I'm in over my head, but then I'll come up here late at night and just look at the stars. I know it's an illusion, but from way down here they appear to be so close together, leaving few spots of the sky untouched. There's an entire galaxy out there, and it makes me realize how... tiny I am in comparison. That I may be having a hard time, that something may seem like the end of the world, but in the grand scheme of things? It's such a small problem."

Rick just stands beside her, gaze trained on her profile as she looks out at the tops of buildings, the sky in the distance.

"That doesn't sound silly at all," he promises, and she turns her head to him, a soft smile on her face. "I think it's really beautiful."

Giving a little lift of her shoulder, she exhales against the cold. "It helps. And one day maybe I'll bring Eli up here, show him."

"I think he'd like that. And—thank you. For showing me this. For telling me." He takes a breath, shifts his weight and she eyes him, tilts her head in question. "Kate, these past two months have been... insane. Incredible, really. Meeting you and Eli has been one of the best things to ever happen to me." Her heart pulses in her chest, thrashes against her ribs with each word he says. "I don't want you to think this is just a reflex because you got hurt and I realized how much I really care about you, but..." His voice trails off as he pauses.

Her right hand brushes against his arm, encourages him. "But?"

"But I've known I cared about you since the day I met you. It scared me, just how intense the emotions were that hit me that night, watching you cry as you held Eli, talking to you over coffee afterwards. It's something I haven't experienced before, but I'm so—I'm so _lucky_ to be able to feel like this, so I don't want to waste it."

She can't seem to rip her gaze from his, can't move; her feet feel rooted in place, a cocktail of emotions rushing through her system. Excitement, apprehension, desire. Her entire body lights on fire, her eyes burning bright beneath the subdued light.

He looks at her for a moment, revels in how stunning she is. Her hair is damp now from the accumulation of snowflakes, and her cheeks are flushed, whether from the cold or his words he's unsure.

"What I'm trying to get at is... after the holidays, when you guys are back in Manhattan, would you like to go out to dinner?"

Her teeth pin her bottom lip between her teeth as she attempts to hide her grin. "Rick, are you asking me out on a date?"

"What would you say if I was?"

She hums, forces herself to digest any butterflies remaining in her stomach. "I'd say that I'd like that a lot."

Kate smiles, casts one last glance at the sky before she closes the gap between them. She stretches on her toes, braces herself with one palm on his shoulder, and dusts a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

"Merry Christmas, Rick."

* * *

Later that night, after they've arrived at her father's cabin and Eli is resting comfortably beneath the covers, Kate goes outside. She sits on the porch, settled contently on the swing as she stares out at the night sky. The stars are even more visible out here, where there are no lights at all to cast a shadow on the night's creations.

A surge of warmth rises to her cheeks once more, a soft smile painted on her lips as she thinks about the possibilities that await her, offered by the beauty of tonight's sky and the wonderful man who's walked into their lives.

Back in SoHo, Rick stands on the roof his own building for the first time, an identical smile on his face as he looks out at the tops of buildings in the distance.

* * *

 **A/N** : I'll save the sappy author's note for the epilogue, but thank you all for your continued loveliness.


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

 _2011_

"You know, just out of curiosity," Rick says into the receiver, and Kate's immediately on high alert, "what do you think of the name Bo?"

She pauses. "For...?"

"Just in general."

There's something about the way he says it that leaves her to believe that there's a very specific reason behind the question.

"Well, it's a... fine name, I guess," she says slowly.

"Good, good."

"Is there something you know that I don't?" she asks with a laugh. "Because I mean, if I'm pregnant I'm pretty sure I should be in the loop."

" _No_ ," he says, "and I'm a bit insulted you think I'd suggest we name our child _Bo_."

"As thrilled as I am to hear that, if you're not planning baby names in the middle of the day then what _are_ you doing?" There's a pointed silence. " _Rick_."

"Okay, new question." Kate shifts in her seat, looking around the bullpen to make sure nothing of substance has occurred in the past five minutes that she's missing. "Hypothetically speaking..."

Her brows shoot up at the beginning of his sentence. "Rick..."

"Hear me out," he tells her. " _Hypothetically speaking_ , if you were to come home and there's another house guest here, how would you feel?"

"That's far too vague a question for me to answer." When there's no response, she sighs. " _What_ other house guest? Is someone staying with us?"

Rick clears his throat. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"What did you do?"

"I'll rephrase: if you were to come home and there's a _furry_ house guest residing in our humble abode, how would you feel?"

She stills, eyes narrowing. "You didn't..."

"He's a golden retriever and his name is Bo," he rushes out, squeezing his eyes shut as he braces for whatever she has to say.

"You _bought a dog?_ " she asks incredulously. "Shouldn't I, as the other adult member of the household, be included in these kinds of decisions?"

She and Eli have been living at the loft for a few months now, and though it's taken some getting used to it's been going pretty well. Eli's thrilled to have a bigger room that's _not_ right next to hers, and she can't complain about sharing Rick's with him either.

" _Adopted_ a dog," he corrects, "and yes, absolutely! See, I didn't have any intentions on getting a dog today. But I was walking to the coffee shop and our usual one was over-crowded for some reason, so I just skipped it and walked a few blocks to another one. And on the way I passed a pet shelter, and there were these adorable animals and I just wanted to go in to look at them, honest."

Kate laughs. "Of course. Go on."

"So I was watching them, and I saw Bo. He's adorable, Kate, really, and I was petting him through his cage and the woman at the counter said that he's been there since he was born and they were running low on space so if he wasn't adopted he'd be put down _today_." She sighs; she hates how over-crowded shelters are forced to euthanize animals in these kinds of situations. "I just looked at his little face and I couldn't leave him there. Everything happened so fast, I just wanted to get him out of there and I didn't even think to call. Are you upset?"

She blows out a breath. " _No_ , I'm not," she says, a small smile on her face. "You're a sweet, sweet man and this is one of the many reasons I love you."

"Care to list the others?" he questions. She doesn't have to see him to know he's waggling his eyebrows.

"Maybe later," she teases. Esposito calls out, something about a lead in their case. "I gotta go. I'll see you later?"

Rick nods. "Be careful. Love you."

"Love you too. Don't let the puppy maul my son, please," she quips, then hangs up.

* * *

When Rick picks Eli up from school, he has a grin on his face.

"What?" Eli asks, brows raised. "Did you do something mom would disapprove of again?"

Rick laughs, tugging the boy into his side. " _No_ , I did not." Well, technically he might have, but Kate now knows of Bo and isn't upset so he's sticking with no. "But there is a surprise waiting at the apartment."

"What kind of surprise?"

"The kind of surprise you'll love, so let's get a move on, kid," he teases, and a second later Eli's sprinting from his side and making a beeline for the car. "Okay, maybe not _that_ fast!"

Eli laughs. "Come on, Rick, you can keep up!"

This kid has all the energy in the world.

"I'm old, take pity on me."

He gets an exaggerated eye roll from Eli in response.

* * *

"So, what's the—" The question dies on his tongue when Bo scampers out of the living room, slides across the hardwood, and barrels into Eli's legs. "A puppy?!"

Rick grins. "Eli, this is Bo."

Eli immediately drops to the floor, tossing his school bag off to the side. "He's so cute," the boy beams, hands trying to keep up with the squirming dog to pet him. Eli looks up at Rick. "Does mom know about this?"

"She does."

"And she's okay with us getting a dog?"

"She is," he says. Eli doesn't have to know that Kate hadn't been privy to the dog at first. "She's excited to meet him when she's off work. Which should be..." He glances down at his watch. "Sometime soon."

"Awesome," Eli says, leaning forward to envelop Bo in a hug. "You're so soft, buddy."

Rick laughs, pats Eli on the back as he moves around the pair and heads for the kitchen. Bo, eager to keep moving, follows him and runs back and forth near the island.

"How old is he?" Eli asks.

"A year, I think they said."

"Did you name him?"

He shakes his head. "No, it's the name they gave him at the shelter. He seems to answer to it, so I didn't want to confuse him." He opens the fridge. "You want a snack?"

Eli nods. "Yes, please. Do we have fruit snacks?" Rick moves to the cabinet, pulls out a box of Scooby-Doo fruit snacks and tosses a packet to him. "Thanks."

Rick makes quick work of making a sandwich for himself; he's been so busy picking up stuff Bo needs that he hasn't had the time to even think about eating. As he's putting away the bread and lunch meat, his sandwich finally prepared to perfection, Eli clears his throat.

"Uh, Rick?"

He turns. "Yeah?"

Eli twists in his chair, points to a spot on the floor near the staircase. "I don't think Bo gets the concept of _outdoors_ yet."

Rick follows the boy's gaze and finds a wet spot on the floor. "Bo," he sighs, looking down at the puppy whose face is one of pure innocence. Of course. "We don't want Kate's first impression of you to be this, do we now?"

Bo remains completely unbothered, just wags his tail and looks up at them.

At least it's on the hardwood and not the carpet.

* * *

"Admit it, you love him."

Kate sighs from her spot in bed, Bo curled up on her lap. The little thing is just so damn _cute_ , all puppy love and affection. The second she walked in the door he was all over her, not content until she bent down and pet him and let him lick her arm.

Watching Eli with him was adorable too, the boy so thrilled to have a pet. The joy on his face is enough.

"Okay, I _might_ ," she admits, fingers gently caressing the puppy's back as he sleeps. "He is very soft."

Rick leans over, rubs at Bo's head. "For a dog that's spent his first year of life in a shelter, he's incredibly loving."

"Dogs are like people, you know. They just want some attention."

"Why, Kate Beckett, are you a dog person?"

"I never said I _wasn't_ a dog person."

"No, but you never mentioned having any pets growing up."

"Because I lived in the city, in an apartment that didn't allow pets," she says, leaning against the pillow. "Except fish and hamsters, but the fish died and the hamsters always got lost when I put them in their balls. I'd spend like an _hour_ looking for them only to find them somehow wedged behind a recliner, stuck."

Rick laughs. "Okay, so I can cross fish and hamsters off of the list of potential household inhabitants."

Pointing her toes into the mattress, she stretches. "I think the apartment is full enough for now," she chuckles, letting her eyes fall closed.

There's a moment of silence.

"For now?"

She peels her eyes open, turns her head to face him. "Yeah, for now," she confirms, a soft smile on her face.

* * *

 _2013_

"E, come on," Kate calls for her son. "We're gonna be late!"

Rick comes up behind her, arm wrapped around her waist. "We still have a few minutes," he says. "We'll be there with enough time to spare, I promise."

"Not if this kid doesn't put some pep in his step," she retorts, patting his hand before removing herself from his grip. "Eli James! This is _your_ birthday present we're going to be late for!"

The boy in question trots down the steps moments later, baseball cap on his head and Yankees jersey adorned on his body. "I'm here, Mom, jeez," he drawls, jumping from the last step. "The game doesn't start for another hour anyway, why are we leaving so early?"

Kate just grins, steps forward to press a kiss to his head. "To avoid the rush," she says, meeting Rick's gaze. They share a knowing look, gone unnoticed by Eli. He moves to step around her but she pulls him in for a hug instead, crushing him to her chest.

"Mom," he chokes out. "Losing ability to breathe."

She laughs but relents, pulling away. With her hands braced on his shoulders, she takes him in. He doesn't look any older than he did last night, but he's _thirteen_ now. He'll always be her baby, but he's not so little anymore.

"I can't believe you're a _teenager_ ," she says, squeezing his shoulders. "God, I'm old."

Eli rolls his eyes. "It's my birthday, Mom. Not yours."

"I know, but every year older you are means another year added on for me too, kiddo," she chuckles, releasing her grip.

Rick laughs. "You're still young, don't worry," he says, kissing her forehead.

"Well _yeah_ , everyone's young compared to you," she teases. In reality he's only a few years older than her, but it's still fun to tease him about it. She'll be 33 this year and he's turning 40, so _naturally_ she has to bust him about the new milestone.

" _Ouch_." He slaps a palm to his chest, face twisted as he feigns hurt. "I'm offended, and we really _will_ be late if you don't stop insulting me."

"Whenever you guys are done being gross..." Eli's voice breaks them from their back and forth, and they look to find the boy already standing by the door, hand on his hip, brows raised expectantly. "Does Bo have enough food and water?"

Rick nods. "Yup, all checked. I took him for a walk before too; there are doggie pads set up, though. He'll be fine until we're back." The dog in question emerges from behind the couch at the sound of his name. He runs circles around Rick's legs, wags his tail in a plea to be pet. He laughs, bends down to scratch between his ears before stretching back up. "You can't come with us, bud."

Kate laughs, playfully shoving Rick away from her as she dodges the dog to grab her bag. Their tickets are in there, so forgetting that would be pretty unfortunate. Rick plucks his cap from the counter and hands Kate hers, smiling when she puts it onto her head backwards.

"I'll fix it when we get in the car," she mutters at his grin.

He shakes his head. "I don't know, I like the backwards cap look. Very badass."

"And here I thought being a _homicide detective_ was badass enough for you," she huffs jokingly. Before he has a chance to toss back a reply, she throws her hand over his mouth. On a whisper, she adds, "Later. Let's get my kid to his birthday surprise."

* * *

They show their tickets and get into the stadium, and Rick leads them away from the main entrance.

"Shouldn't be be going to our seats?" Eli asks, trailing between both adults.

Kate nods. "We are."

"But... they're that way," he says, pointing behind them and to each possible opening for seats they pass. "Or that way. Or that way. Or _that_ way—"

"Those aren't our seats," Rick laughs, pausing for a moment. He takes out his phone and calls someone, to which Eli merely looks confused, tells them they'll be waiting and hangs up. "We have to wait here, and then someone's going to take us to our seats."

Eli shakes his head. "This doesn't make _any_ sense."

Kate laughs, pulls him against her side and squeezes his shoulder. "It will, E. It will."

They're only waiting for about ten minutes before Rick's tapped on the shoulder. Eli and Kate ran off to the bathroom a few minutes ago, and Rick can only imagine the boy's reaction when he walks back over to find Derek Jeter standing beside him.

"Thanks again for making this happen," Rick says while he has the opportunity. "He's going to freak out."

Derek nods. "We're all happy to help. Always nice to surprise a fan," he says. "Besides, thirteen is a big year."

"It really is."

He doesn't get much chance to say anything else before he spots the mother-son duo returning; Kate's smiling as she locks eyes with him, but Eli hasn't looked up yet. When he does, it takes a few seconds for him to register who's standing next to Rick, but then he stops in his tracks.

"Mom..."

Kate chuckles, tugs on his arm. "Come on."

"You must be Eli," Derek says once they've walked up, holding out his hand. "Happy birthday!"

Eli beams. "I—yes. I'm Eli. Thank you. You're... Derek Jeter."

Kate bites back her grin; her son meeting Derek Jeter reminds her so much of when she met Joe Torre. Geeking out, introducing herself with her name completely out of order, barely concealing her squeals. Though, she has to hand it to Eli—he's handling it a little better than she did. Not by much, she can still see his eyes about to pop out of their sockets, but some.

The baseball player laughs. "On my better days."

"You're amazing. I'm a _huge_ fan. You know, of the team. And you! Of everyone," Eli rushes out, then looks desperately between Kate and Rick. "What's going on?"

" _Well_ , thirteen is a big year. We wanted a big surprise," Kate says. "We passed all of those entrances because that's not where we're watching the game from."

Eli's eyes dart between the three adults. "Okay..."

"You'll be sitting in the dugout, kid," Rick tells him finally, and Eli's eyes widen even further, his mouth dropping open. "Good surprise?"

He gives an aggressive nod. "The best." He moves forward, wraps his arms around his mother and Rick. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Looking up at one of his favorite players, he grins. "Thank you."

Derek leads them back out to the dugout, and Eli bounces on his toes the entire time.

As he stands, watching the game from the best possible place he could imagine, he can't keep the splitting grin from his face. Kate and Rick watch on, both alternating between keeping an eye on the actual game and on Eli's reactions, the pure joy radiating from his body.

When he gets to meet the team after the game, shake hands with each of them as they give him a pat on the back and wish him a happy birthday, Kate's pretty sure he doesn't even care that they lost.

* * *

"Best. Game. Ever."

Kate smiles at her son as they pile into the backseat. "Happy birthday, baby. I'm so glad you loved it."

"Thank you _so_ much," he says, clutching the glove the entire team had signed for him in his lap. "This is getting framed."

"I'm not sure it'll fit into a frame," Rick laughs, "but we can get a glass display box for it."

Eli nods. "Okay. Whatever keeps it safe."

The drive back is filled with more excited chatter, Eli's recounting of the game and his interactions with the Yankees. Neither adult mentions that they were there, too, that they witnessed everything he's saying. He's far too excited to even care, and they're over the moon at how well their surprise has panned out.

"You two tired?" Rick asks, turning around in the driver's seat.

The boy shrugs. "Not really. Kind of hungry, though."

"You had three hot dogs," Kate laughs. "I have no idea how you manage to eat like you do. Where does it all go?"

"Right here," Eli says, rubbing at his stomach dramatically. "It's a very happy stomach, Mom. And very hungry. It needs food."

She rolls her eyes. Ah, to have the metabolism of a thirteen year old boy; it'd be lovely.

"What do you feel like?" Rick asks, waiting at a light. "We could get something quick and eat it in the park, if you want."

Kate nods. "Quick sounds nice. Not having to cook right now sounds very nice." She may not be all that tired, but she's not in the mood to have to go buy ingredients and have either of them cook a meal.

"Can we get McDonalds?" Eli asks, giving her the best doe eyed look he can muster. " _Please_ , Mom, it's my birthday."

She huffs. "All right, let's go."

Rick grins at her in the rear view window, and she catches his wink to Eli. Such an enabler.

* * *

They get their McDonalds and take it to eat in the park, settling on one of the tables with their bags. It's been a while since she's had it; she's no stranger to takeout, but it's generally of the Chinese or Italian variety.

Eli scarfs down his burger and fries with alarming speed, and she has to remind him a few times to chew his food before he chokes.

"What are you in such a rush for?" she asks, popping a fry into her mouth.

He gestures to her bag. "Can I see it?"

Grabbing it from the bench beside her, she hoists it above the table to avoid knocking into anyone's food and hands it over. She watches curiously as he rifles through it, and she's about to ask what he's looking for when he pulls out a baseball.

Her mouth opens. "When did you put that in there?"

"This morning. Just in case." He looks to Rick. "Want to?"

The man in question nods and begins to shovel his food into his mouth quickly to finish it off. Kate merely rolls her eyes.

"You're just as bad as he is," she says, earning a lopsided grin from Rick. "You're a terrible example."

He leans over the table, unaffected, and presses a kiss to her lips. "And yet you still chose me," he reminds, grinning as he pushes away from the table and stands, gestures for Eli to follow.

They throw the baseball back and forth for about fifteen minutes before Eli calls for her. "Come on!"

"Yeah, Kate, join the fun," Rick adds, tossing the ball in her direction. He's lucky she has quick reflexes, otherwise that would've taken an eye out.

Standing, she brushes the dirt from her jeans and moves towards her two boys. It starts off as a simple, nice game of throwing the ball to one another, each left on edge and on alert in case the ball heads their way.

At some point Rick sneaks up on her, comes from behind and wraps his arms around her waist. She squeals as she's lifted from the ground, dragged backwards a few feet.

" _Rick_ ," she huffs, "what are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you, obviously."

"You can put me down now," she tells him, wriggling in an attempt to make it more difficult for him to carry her. It doesn't stop him, however. "Carrying is illegal."

He laughs. "That's basketball."

He does put her down, though, and she steadies herself. Turning, she gives a playful shove against his chest. "What was that for?"

Rick merely shrugs. "'Cause I could. You're light, you know."

"Good to know," she deadpans. She motions for Eli to throw her the ball, and she tosses it quickly to Rick, who's caught off guard and misses. "Gotta stay on your toes, _Rick_."

He makes eye contact with Eli this time, shares a silent conversation with the boy. Kate watches her son nod, grin, and she squints. Before she knows it, she's off the ground again, but this time as Rick holds her up, Eli's joined in the front, tickles at her sides until she's gasping for air.

"I'll... let you off the hook... because it's your birthday," she manages between laughs. Eli stands before her, blinking with an innocent smile on his face. "But tomorrow, you better watch your back, kid."

She takes their momentary distraction to her advantage and turns, jumps on Rick to tackle him to the ground. Eli follows suit, piles onto his mother's back until they've buried Rick beneath their bodies, the only thing floating through the air the sounds of laughter.

* * *

 _2014_

Rick can't stop staring at the small bundle in his arms, wrapped in a pale pink blanket, the tiniest pink beanie covering a head of wispy baby hairs. He should put her down, lay her in the bassinet the nurse had rolled her into the room with, but he doesn't want to. He's too in awe.

His eyes trail a few feet to the left, watches with a soft smile as Kate finally gets some much deserved sleep. He's dimmed the light for her, and the soft glow that's left radiates off of her skin.

The baby wriggles in his arms, makes a small whimpering sound before quieting down again.

"You're beautiful, you know that," he whispers, brushing his thumb against the skin of her cheek. So soft. "Just like your mommy. I bet you'll be just as much of a spitfire, huh?"

He hears an amused grunt and turns to find Kate watching him with tired eyes, lids hooded. "She'll probably be a big kid, just like you," she murmurs.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Kate hums. "Never. Now bring her over here."

She shifts in the bed, makes room for him to sit on one side. He settles in as gently as he can, doesn't want to bump into Kate or jostle their daughter. She's still asleep, face peacefully slack, her little lips pursing as she breathes.

"We did good, Kate," he breathes, turning to press a kiss to her temple.

She smiles, reaching up to wrap her fingers around their little one's. Ten little fingers and ten little toes, so impossibly tiny he thinks she might break with the slightest of movements.

"Really good," she echoes, staring at their bundle before lifting her eyes to his. "She'll have your bright blue eyes, I can feel it."

"She has your nose though. Adorable," he says, one hand coming down to find hers as he interlocks their fingers. "And that grimace? Oh yeah, all you."

Kate huffs. "She's a few hours old, Rick. She didn't _grimace_."

"She absolutely did. A quick learner, this one."

Chuckling, she lets herself rest back against the pillow, eyes drifting closed for a few seconds at a time. Rick continues to watch on, looking between the two most important ladies in his life. Barring his mother, of course, who's been wonderful in joining with Jim to keep Eli company tonight. The boy wanted to stay at the hospital with them, but he still has school tomorrow and being awake until the wee hours of the morning will do him no good.

"Thank you, Kate." Her head cocks to the side, her eyes opening to find his. He locks her gaze for a moment before glancing down at his daughter. _Their_ daughter. He has a daughter. Wow. "For this. She's so—she's perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Thank you for giving me this gift."

A soft, knowing smile curls at her lips. "You did have _some_ part in this," she reminds with a small laugh.

"I know, but... I remember telling you, back when we first met and I told you I didn't have children, that I was glad kids never happened with Meredith. I would have loved my kids regardless, of course, but I knew I would _know_ when it was with the right person, when it was something so special." He pauses, squeezes her fingers between his. "This is it. This is the special I was waiting for—for you, for Eli, for..." His eyes fall to their little girl. "For her. She was worth waiting for."

"I love you." Kate pushes herself up, covers his mouth with hers. "And thank you, too. For everything."

They spend an indeterminate amount of time staring at their daughter before Rick finally lowers her back into the bassinet, and he manages to coax Kate into going back to sleep with a promise that he'll be right beside her.

* * *

 _2016_

"If you push my son into the pool with his clothes on again at _least_ make sure his pockets are empty this time," she yells across the house, setting Abby down to toddle around in the living room.

She hears Rick grumble, "I apologized for that."

They were at the Hamptons house a few months ago and Rick shoved Eli into the pool, but not before her son had emptied his pockets, thus resulting in one very water-logged phone. Rice didn't do the trick, and they had to buy a new one.

"I'm prepared this time, Mom," Eli promises, emerging from the other room to wave his phone around. Standing next to him now, she realizes how tall her boy's getting. He's sixteen and she'd make a bet that within a few months, she'll be looking up to him. "Out of the pockets, but I'll be getting Rick before he gets me."

"Won't happen," Rick chimes in. "I have reflexes like a cat."

Kate scoffs. "An injured cat, maybe." His face falls, mock offense settling over his features, and she laughs. Pushing up on her tiptoes, she brushes a hand across his cheek and dusts a kiss to his lips as she slides past him. "People still love injured cats, don't worry."

She moves into the kitchen to put away the groceries they've just bought; it's been a bit sparse since they don't come up here as often as any of them would like to, but now it should be fully stocked for a while.

Eli disappears upstairs with his bags and when she glides back into the living room, Rick is sitting on the floor with Abby. She leans against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest, a loving smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

"Where'd the penguin go?" he asks, eyes wide; she can see the stuffed penguin, aptly named Tuxedo, behind his back.

Abby leans to the side, peering behind him, her little face splitting into a grin as she points. "'xedo!"

Rick gasps, pulling the penguin back into his lap. "Here he is! So smart, Peanut," he praises, handing their daughter's favorite stuffed animal over to her. She reaches out with her small fists and grabs him, crushing the plush animal to her chest.

Abby's a ball of energy, as smart as her mother and mischievous as her father. He'll admit it, too; when they find her reaching, to no avail, for the cookie jar, her attempts to climb the cupboards with her little legs. She doesn't get far, but she has it all thought out.

The little girl catches sight of her mother and grins, pushes herself from her seated position and makes a beeline in her direction. Kate smiles, bends to catch her.

"Hi, Trouble," she greets, peppering kisses to each cheek, reveling in the light giggle it gets her. "You're outsmarting daddy, aren't you?"

Abby nods. "Daddy silly."

Rick huffs, but Kate just looks over at him, grins. "He is very silly."

When she looks down, she just takes a moment to stare at their little girl. As she hoped, she has Rick's piercing blue eyes; they're enough to disarm anyone, so bright and innocent, so inquisitive. She has Kate's hair, light brown strands falling to her shoulders in unruly waves, an adorable set of bangs to top it off.

Bouncing Abby on her hip, she looks over to him. "So, what's first on the agenda?"

Rick gives a dramatic groan as he stands up. "Hmm. Beach? And then maybe she'll be worn out enough for a nap before dinner."

"No nap," Abby insists, hiding her face in Kate's neck.

She'll forget they even mentioned a nap in about twenty minutes, and so Kate nods. "I'll get her ready, you go tell Eli."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them head down to the beach. Abby's adorned in her new swimsuit, black and red with a ladybug on the front, and she takes off running for the ocean before Eli swoops in and grabs her before she can get too far.

Abby squirms in his arms, but he just continues to carry her. "Can't run into the ocean, Abs. You'll get swept away and we'll never see you again."

"Eli," Kate sighs.

He shrugs. "What? The current _would_ take her out to sea, and if she's too scared she won't run out again."

Taking the now eerily quiet little girl from her brother, Rick shakes her in his arms before tossing her up. That gets a laugh. "We wouldn't let you get swept away, would we, Peanut? But Eli's right—no running into the ocean. Capisce?"

"'Pisce," she echoes.

Rick wanders a few feet away with Abby, sets her down and holds one of her hands to walk along the sand. Eli helps Kate put all of their stuff down, laying out a few of their towels.

"We don't want her to be _terrified_ of the ocean, E," Kate tells her son, taking a bottle of sunscreen from him.

"We don't want her barreling into the water every chance she gets, either," he says, pulling his t-shirt off and tossing it onto his towel. "Besides, you told me that there were monsters who lived in our hallway that would eat small children after dark. How's _that_ for terrified."

Kate laughs, gives a slow nod. "That's... fair. But as soon as you were tall enough to reach the doorknob, you were fascinated. I'd turn around and you'd be gone, door open, and I'd have to go running through the hallway after my four year old."

Eli snorts. "You could have locked the door, Mom."

She gives him an incredulous look, raises a brow. "I _did_ , kid. You were smart. Found things around the house to use as a stick and flipped the lock." His eyes widen; clearly he doesn't remember that. "Telling you that you'd be eaten if you stepped foot into the hallway was the only thing that got you to stop."

"I'm impressed," Eli says, and she rolls her eyes. "Four year old me was more innovative than I'd imagined."

"Yeah, such an innovator," she deadpans. "You gave me so many heart attacks."

"Sorry 'bout that."

She wraps an arm around his shoulder, tugs him into her side. "Apology accepted. You turned out all right."

Eli laughs. "And so will Abby. I'm not afraid of hallways, and she'll be fine with the water."

Kate just shakes her head in amusement and sheds the t-shirt covering her bikini top. She leaves the shorts on, figures she'll take them off later if she decides to go in the water or get a tan.

"Let's go join them," she says, nodding towards Rick and Abby. When they reach the duo, she puts a hand on her hip. "What are you two doing?"

"Making a sandcastle."

"I think sandcastles usually require water to make the sand wet," she laughs, watching as Abby tries to pile dry sand. It's not working, but she seems undeterred.

Rick looks up. "I couldn't leave her sitting here by herself to go put some in buckets."

Eli volunteers to grab some and goes off to fill a few buckets worth of water. With wet sand, Abby's sandcastle comes together nicely; it's a few lumps of sand packed together, and a thin strip of sand connecting them. It doesn't look much like a sandcastle at all, really, but she's proud of it and the three of them smile when she claps for herself.

"Castle!" she beams.

"That's right, sweetie, you made a sandcastle," Kate grins, brushing a hand down Abby's arm. "You did such a good job."

Rick and Eli take off for a while, decide to throw a football across the beach while Kate stays with Abby, bringing her to the edge of the water. She holds both of her small hands in hers as she towers behind her, lets her wet her feet and walk in up to her knees. It's no more than a few inches deep, seeing as Abby is so tiny, but the little girl squeals with delight at the gentle rush of a small wave.

She's just about to take another step when Kate feels something ice cold splash against her back. She gasps, whips around to find her boys standing there, each with now-empty buckets in their hands, guilty but pleased grins on their faces.

Her lips twist to the side as she picks Abby up and settles her on her waist.

"Oh, it's on."

"'s on!" Abby echoes.

Kate reaches down and does her best to kick the water up in their direction, but they're too far away to do any real damage. She can, however, pick up the damp sand and throw _that_ at them with pretty decent accuracy. They both yell when the sand slaps against their chests, and they run past her to refill their buckets.

She manages to steal the bucket from Rick, and she dumps water on his head just as Eli gets her. Rick wraps his arms around her and Abby, holds them still so his partner can inflict maximum water damage, and then Kate frees herself.

Abby's passed off to Rick so Kate can get revenge on Eli, and they spend the next forty-five minutes having a water fight with the occasional sand snowball being tossed.

Kate's laughter mixes with Rick's yells of victory, Eli's promises for payback, and Abby's infectious giggles. Looking at the family surrounding her, she feels her heart expand with so much love, joy.

It's hard to believe it's been eight years since she opened the door to find an apprehensive Richard Castle standing beside her well-intentioned, guilt-ridden son. There have been many ups and just as many downs, but she wouldn't change a single thing.

One day, she thinks she'll thank Eli for breaking the rules that day.

* * *

 **A/N** : This is so much longer than I'd anticipated, but I hope it meets any expectations you may have had for this epilogue.

I've had such a fun ride with this one, and I cannot thank you all enough for going on this journey with me. Your sweet comments with each chapter have kept me going. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this little story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Until next time, folks.


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